Dangan Ronpa: Hope vs Despair
by mtnetwarrior
Summary: Second in the Dangan Ronpa Trilogy. With sixteen of the 78th class trapped inside Hope's Peak Academy and forced by a mysterious Puppetmaster to participate in a Mutual Killing game, will they be able to stand together and avoid any casualties?
1. Prologue: Welcome to Despair Academy

**New day, new story. Second in my Dangan Ronpa trilogy. This one immediately follows the events of the previous story. Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Prologue: Welcome to Despair Academy

Naegi was a little confused. One second he was standing outside the gates to Hope's Peak Academy, then as soon as he set foot inside the world suddenly swirled around like cotton candy. As he began to black out, he could swear he heard some sort of rumbling. When Naegi came too, he found himself inside a darkened room. All he could really remember was walking in the main gate. _'I must have blacked out and been brought here,'_ he thought to himself. When he looked around the room, he saw a number of oddities. There were iron plates covering the windows, visible security cameras, and TV monitors on the walls. Naegi soon found a pamphlet telling him to head for the entrance hall at 8:00 am. Realizing it was that time already, Naegi hurried out.

* * *

Inside the entrance hall, Tora Wright looked over the students that were with him; Sayaka Maizono, Kyouko Kirigiri, Byakuya Togami, Chihiro Fujisaki, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Celestia Ludenberg, Touko Fukawa, Aoi Asahina, Sakura Oogami, Hifumi Yamada, Yasuhiro Hagakure, Mondo Oowada, Leon Kuwata, and Junko Enoshima. From what he could remember, there were supposed to be sixteen people. When he spotted Naegi run into the hall, he knew that everyone was here. "Hey there," Naegi said, "You must be the other 'Super High School Level Students'. My name is Makoto Naegi, I'm the 'Super High School Level Luckster'." As soon as Naegi said the word "luckster" Tora saw a black psyche-lock form around Naegi. _'He's telling a lie that he thinks is the truth. It was the same with all the others.'_

After Ishimaru reprimanded Naegi for being late, the group introduced themselves to each other. They learned they all experienced the same problem. They had entered the school only to black out and find themselves sleeping in random classrooms. "This is most shameful," Ishimaru said, "What a horrible way to start our new school year." "Not to mention we can't seem to get past this giant door," Celes said. Tora walked over to Naegi. "Are you certain of your title, Naegi?" Naegi nodded. "I was selected to be here because of a random lottery. Why, is there something wrong with that?"

"There is," Tora said, "This school never does things by lottery. If someone came here bearing the title 'Super High School Level Luckster' it is because they really are blessed with extraordinary luck. Second, you may not be able to see it, but there is a spiritual psyche-lock guarding the truth. A black one no less." Naegi was confused. "You're Tora Wright, yes? The exchange students given the title 'Super High School Level Attorney'? What does an attorney need with spiritual power?"

Tora smiled. "More than you might think. My mother was born into a branch family of the Fey clan of spirit mediums, giving me a blood connection. Normally men born into this family do not possess spiritual power, but because my father used a spiritual artifact so many times, that energy seeped into his physical form, which was transferred to me upon my birth. It is quite useful in getting information from people. But only if the lock is red. Red psyche-locks represent secrets people try to hide from others. All it talks is a little push and the right evidence, and they shatter like glass."

Naegi remembered Tora's earlier words. "And the black ones?" Tora closed his eyes. "Those represent secrets even the person with the lock does not know. Of course, I can never see any locks on myself, but everyone here has both types of locks on them, so I can only assume we are all on the same boat. Especially Kirigiri. For some reason she won't mention her special talent. I was finally able to get her to confess that she cannot remember it for whatever reason. Amnesia most likely." "We have more important issues," Ishimaru said, "When we each came here for the first time, none of this stuff was here. So where it did it come from so suddenly?"

"Relax guys," Hagakure said, "It's probably just some stunt for orientation. I bet the higher-ups are having a harmless laugh at or situation." That seemed to release some of the tension in the room... Until a school bell was heard going off. At that moment, on of the TV monitors turned on, revealing a staticky image that vaguely resembled a bear's head. "Mic check! Mic check! Can everyone here me? Attention new students, please assemble in the gymnasium for your entrance ceremony. That is all." The voice sounded cheery, in an eerie sort of way. Suddenly all the tension from before came rushing right back.

"Well," Togami said, "No sense in sticking around here. We may as well go." And with that, he walked off, followed by several other students. "Should we really go?," Maizono asked nervously. "We have nothing to gain staying here," Oogami said. Kirigiri nodded in agreement. "It's no safer here than anywhere else, so we may as well move forwards for now." "Indeed," Tora said, "And personally, I'm a little curious as to what they have in store for us in regards to this 'entrance ceremony'." Soon they were all heading for the gym.

* * *

Inside the gym's anti-chamber, the tension showed no signs of dropping. "This is even worse than my time in juvie," Oowada mentioned. "And did you notice?," Enoshima said, "There were no other students in the halls as we walked here." Ishimaru tried to play it off. "Relax everyone. I'm sure once this ceremony is finished those iron plates will come down." Tora looked him. "I wish I could share your enthusiasm. But something tells me those plates aren't coming down anytime soon. I think we should consider the possibility that we have all been kidnapped." Maizono shivered. "Stop it Tora, you're scaring me."

Kirigiri was busy looking at the trophies in the nearby display. "Strange. There appear to be several trophies missing." Tora took a look himself. Sure enough, there were a couple gaps between the trophies. "It does look like this display case could hold another thirty trophies at least. But with no additional evidence, it's hard to say whether any trophies were removed, or they simply weren't added to begin with."

Inside the gym proper, the main stage seemed set up for an entrance ceremony, but Tora had a strange feeling in his gut, and it wasn't his stomach pains acting up again. He had actually found time to take care of those before he met the others in the entrance hall. "See guys," Hagakure said, "Just like I thought, a perfectly normal entrance ceremony." However, at that moment, the same voice that had come over the monitor earlier called out, "Good. Everyone is here. Let us begin shall we." From the behind the podium popped out what looked like a teddie bear that was colored white on its right side and black on its left side. The right looked normal but the left was decidedly sinister.

"Greetings," the bear said, "I am Monokuma. I am the headmaster here at this academy." Naegi looked to Tora to see if Monokuma was telling the truth, but Tora whispered, "My powers can't work on a non-living object." Yamada seemed a little nervous at the walking, talking teddie bear. "Relax," Kirigiri said, "It's likely an animatronic puppet of some kind. Probably with the real headmaster speaking through it." Monokuma cleared his throat. "To start with, let me explain your new lives here at this academy. As the bright new hope for the world, you will all be staying at this prestigious academy... For the rest of your lives."

Most of the students looked aghast. "You mean... We have to stay here forever?," Fukawa uttered in disbelief. "Isn't that what I just said?," Monokuma said, "Fortunately, we have a big budget, so your lives here will be quite comfortable." _'Now I know we've been kidnapped,'_ Tora thought to himself. "As you may have already figured out," Monokuma said, "This entire school is cut-off from the outside world. So you can forget about ever returning there!" Naegi gasped. "That explains the iron plates in the rooms and halls. And that giant lock on the front door."

Monokuma chuckled. "Bingo. And this entire school was designed to be soundproof, so I'm afraid calling out for help is impossible. That said, I hope you all enjoy your new lives here!" Oowada turned livid. "You know what... I've heard enough! Cut the crap now, and I'll let you get away with saying this is all a big joke!" "I'm afraid this is no joke," Monokuma said, "But feel free to verify it for yourselves after orientation." "But we can't spend our whole lives here," Celes said, "We each have plans for the outside world."

Monokuma seemed confused. "You came to this academy of your own free will, yes? Why do you suddenly want to leave? Then again... It's not like you _can't_ leave. You see, I have a special system in place for those of you who do wish to leave this school. I call it 'graduation'! Let me explain how it works. It's really quite simple. As students at this academy, you will be in charge of maintaining order. To graduate, you must simply break the order... It's really that simple. Should one of you do this, they alone will be allowed to leave."

"And just what do you mean by 'breaking the order'?," Togami asked. "A very good question," Monokuma said, "That too, is quite simple. To break the order... One of you must kill one of your fellow students." Naegi became flabbergasted. "What?!" Monokuma chuckled. "You heard me. Stabbing, strangling, drowning, crushing... The method doesn't matter to me. None of you will be able to leave unless you kill someone. Do whatever it takes to obtain the best results from the worst method."

"And you expect us to kill each other?," Tora said, "There's got to be more to it than that." Monokuma chuckled. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not expecting you to go at each other's throats from the first day. After all, that would be too easy. But the important thing is that from now on, this school is your new home. If you don't like it... Well I've already told you your options." "Screw that!," Oowada said, and he marched right up to Monokuma. Grabbing the animatronic teddie by it's next, he yelled, "I gave you a chance to just call this a joke, but now you've missed it! Now let us all out of here right now!"

With a terrified cry, Monokuma called out, "Oh dear! It's against the rules to attack the headmaster!" "You really feel like keeping this up, don't you douchebag!," Oowada said, and he made to punch Monokuma. However, before he could move the bear started beeping. Sensing something bad, Kirigiri called out, "Oowada, get rid of it right now!" Oowada, sensing the urgency in Kirigiri's voice, quickly threw Monokuma away from him and the other students. No sooner had he done so then the animatronic bear exploded.

As the smell of gunpowder hit everyone's nostrils, another Monokuma popped up from behind the podium. "Well, I hope you understand now. There shall be no rule-breaking in this school. As none of you were aware of this rule to begin with I shall let you off with a warning." "Wait," Enoshima said, "Are there, like, more than one of you?" Monokuma nodded. "Dozens of units such as myself are stationed throughout the school, and all of them are equipped with the same explosives as the one you saw blow up earlier. And by now you have certainly noticed the security cameras set up everywhere. Any further rule-breaking will be severely punished."

Asahina looked to be on the verge of tears. "This... This is insane." "Oh," Monokuma said, "I almost forget. There is one more thing you all should have. Your personal student handbooks, or ElectroiDs. These specially designed electronic student IDs will be essential to your life here in this school, so try not to lose them. I can certainly replace them if it come to that, but it can be a pain to do so. It will display your real name when you turn it on, so make sure you have the right one. Not only are these ElectroiDs virtually indestructible, they are indispensable. They also contain the official school rules, so be sure to read them over in order to avoid unnecessary punishment."

And with that, Monokuma disappeared. "Damn," Kuwata said, "This is messed up. Spend our lives here, or kill each other?" "This has to be a joke," Ishimaru said, "It's too ridiculous not to be!" Togami adjusted his glasses. "Whether it's a joke or not is not the issue. The problem is... Whether or not someone took that seriously." The implications of Togami's words hit home to everyone. Right then, in that very room, were sixteen potential murderers. The only question was... Would a murder actually happen?

To be continued...

**Not while I'm writing this story. But you'll see how in the upcoming chapters.**


	2. Chapter 1: Live Hard, But Still Live

**And here is where I completely set myself adrift. Well, I will be using certain plot points to act as a compass. Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Chapter 1: Live Hard, But Still Live

The tension in air was thick enough to cut like a knife. Kirigiri quickly broke the tension by saying, "Well, are you all going to just stand around?" That seemed to snap everyone back to reality. "She... She's right," Ishimaru said, "We must continue to move forward, even in these uncertain times!" Tora sighed. "I'd say 'uncertain times' is an understatement. But still, our time would be better spent doing something other than just stand around giving each other suspicious glares." "And what exactly is our quest Master Tora Wright?," Yamada asked. Tora put a hand to his chin. "I suppose our first order of business is seeing whether or not Monokuma was telling the truth about us being sealed in here."

Enoshima nodded. "We should also find whoever's controlling that weird-ass teddie bear and beat the crap out of them!" "Hold on," Fujisaki spoke up, "We should first check our ElectroiDs. Until we know what the rules here are, we shouldn't move around too much. We could wind up with another exploding teddie." Once the ElectroiDs were powered up, they started by displaying their owners' names, just as Monokuma said. The school rules had been as follows:

1. Students are to live out their lives together exclusively within the academy. Indefinitely.

2. The period from 10 P.M. to 7 A.M. is designated "nighttime." Be aware that certain areas are off-limits during this time.

3. Sleep is permitted only in dormitory bedrooms. Deliberate use of any other room will be treated as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.

4. You may investigate Hope's Peak Academy freely. To this end, no particular limitations have been placed on your actions.

5. Violence against the headmaster, Monokuma, is forbidden. Furthermore, destruction of surveillance cameras is also prohibited.

6. The villain who kills one of his companions will be allowed to "graduate," provided his crime is not betrayed to the other students.

7. Additional rules may be appended to this list if deemed necessary.

"The fuck is this shit?!," Oowada said once he had finished reading, "They really think I'm let myself be pushed around by rules like these?!" "Well," Tora said, "Unless you wanna end up as a crater, I suggest you play along for now." Oowada suddenly turned sullen. "No way I'm dyin' here... I've still got promises to keep outside the school." "Guys," Maizono said, "What do you think rule six means?" Tora took a quick look. "Obviously, it means killing one of our fellow students isn't enough. We must also get away with it."

"In other words," Celes said, "Pull off the perfect crime. Easier said than done I suppose." Asahina sighed. "Can we get off the topic of murder here? Now that we know the rules, we should start looking around. We're allowed to investigate however we want so we should take advantage." "I'm going off alone," Togami said, "For all we know, someone in this room is already plotting their escape." Tora quickly grabbed Togami by the shoulder as he walked out. "That is precisely why we should stick together and keep an eye on each others' whereabouts," Tora said, "Splitting up is only going to make us easy targets. And trust me, in this situation wealth or status mean nothing. Any of us could be a potential murderer, which at the same time makes us all potential victims." Togami frowned, but had to admit Tora was right.

* * *

After that, the students split into four groups of four each. Naegi, Maizono, Kirigiri, and Enoshima were one group; Ishimaru, Oowada, Fujisaki, and Kuwata were the second; Asahina, Oogami, Celes, and Yamada were the third; Tora, Togami, Fukawa, and Hagakure made up the fourth group. After their investigations, they all met in the cafeteria. "So then," Ishimaru said, "How shall we begin?" "We confirmed there are dorms for each of us," Tora said, "The doors have nameplates and special locks designed to give an alarm if anyone tries to pick them. We also each have keys for our dorm."

"The dorms are also soundproof," Enoshima said, "We tried it out earlier. Even shouting at the top of your lungs it's impossible to hear through them. There are showers in each room, with locks on the girls' showers." "From what we observed," Togami said, "The showers are one of the few places in this school not monitored by surveillance. Nice to see whoever's behind this has a sense of common decency. There are also sewing kits in the girls' rooms and tool kits in the boys' rooms, likely meant to be used as weapons." "The next thing is those damn iron plates over all the windows," Kuwata said, "The bolts on them are tight. Not even Oogami could pry them loose."

"Couldn't punch through 'em either," Oowada said, "Or that big steel door on the entrance. Even the gym had unbreakable steel panels over the windows. They must really be intent on keeping us in here." "It is also impossible to make contact with the outside," Oogami said, "There are phones in here, but there are inoperable. There are also staircases leading to the second floor, but they are currently sealed off." Naegi sighed. "So for now, we're stuck on the first floor." Tora put a hand to his chin. "I remember reading in the brochure that this school had five floors. Meaning that if at some point the upper floors become available, we could potentially find an escape route."

"The refrigerator in the kitchen is filled with food," Maizono said, "So we won't go hungry at least." Yamada sighed. "But how long will it last with sixteen of us here?" "Actually," Naegi said, "When we checked the fridge, Monokuma popped out of nowhere and said that the kitchen was restocked daily. That bear just seems to pop up out of nowhere and then disappear again." Kirigiri then brought a diagram out of her jacket. "There's one final thing. This is a map of Hope's Peak Academy. From our initial investigation, it would appear the building we are in is at least structurally similar to Hope's Peak, though with a few unusual modifications."

"If this is Hope's Peak," Asahina said, "Then what happened to the other students." "Perhaps the school was taken over by some unknown organization," Togami said, "The other students having been... Shall we say... Dealt with." There was a general shuddering among the students as to the fate of the others. "So in the end," Celes said, "We really are trapped in this school. In that case, we have no choice but to adapt to our new environment. That is the secret to success in any situation. With that in mind, I have a proposal."

The others looked at her intently. "The rules speak of 'nighttime' here, correct?," Celes explained, "Then why don't make a rule for ourselves to avoid being afraid to sleep at night. During nighttime, we shall have a curfew where we will be confined to our dorm rooms. Since this rule cannot be enforced, it will require everyone's cooperation to succeed." "That sounds reasonable," Tora said, "We can't very well hope to survive in this place if we can't even sleep comfortably." And with that, each of the students headed back to their dorms, as nighttime was about to begin.

Before he left, Tora turned to Enoshima. "There's something I've been meaning to ask. How come you look different than your pictures in the magazines?" Enoshima looked stunned, then said, "Oh that? It's just touch-ups using computer imaging software. They do it all the time in the business." Tora narrowed his eyes as he saw a red psyche-lock form over Enoshima, indicating she was lying to keep a secret. However, with no means of breaking it, Tora simply shrugged and headed back to his room.

* * *

Inside his dorm, Naegi tried the door to the shower, but it seemed to be stuck. "Weird. I thought only the girls' shower rooms had locks." "It's not locked," came Monokuma's disturbingly cheerful voice. Naegi turned to see the animatronic bear standing behind him. "Your door is simply misaligned," the bear explained, "What terrible luck you must have. Don't worry, it can still open. Simply turn the knob, twist it upward, and bingo!" Naegi tried it and found the door opening easily. He turned to look for Monokuma, but he had already vanished. "A weaponized ninja teddie bear. I can't tell if that's scary or silly."

* * *

The day saw everyone wake bright and early. Having remembered that the cafeteria was sealed off during nighttime, Tora made a note to himself to remember to stash food outside it to retrieve in case of late night stomach pains, as so often tended to happen. Meanwhile Naegi and Maizono headed for the gym to look for a potential defensive weapon. The gilded practice sword Naegi was thinking of, however, wound up staining his hands with gold leaf. Regardless, Maizono suggested he take it for his room.

Later in the cafeteria, Kuwata and Tora were talking together. When Kuwata saw Naegi walk in with Maizono on his arm, he frowned. "What does she see in an average kid like him anyway? I saw them earlier, and they were practically lovebirds." Tora smirked. "Jealous much?" "Damn right I'm jealous," Kuwata said, "I mean, I thought idols only went out with other celebs. What gives here?" "It's probably because the two of them went to the same middle school," Tora replied, "Familiarity breeds emotion."

* * *

A few days later the students, at the insistence of Ishimaru, met early in the morning for breakfast. So far, they had no clues as to who brought them here, or how they could get out. "So you mean there's nothing?," Kuwata said, "We spent the last three days on this!" "Whoever it is has got to be sick and demented," Asahina said. Fujisaki looked thoughtful. "Then maybe... It was Genocider Shou." Tora thought he saw Fukawa's eyes go wide for a second, but brushed it off.

"I've heard of him," Naegi said, "In fact, I'd be surprised if there's a single person in this room who hasn't. He's been all over the news." Togami nodded. "Indeed. A dangerous homicidal maniac who leaves a message in his victim's blood." "'Bloodbath Fever'," Tora muttered, "I have heard of Genocider Shou, but since he's limited his killings to Japan, I've never read any case files regarding him. From what I've heard, he supposedly chooses his victims at random, leaving the police with no pattern to go off of. While the rumor is that his victims number in the thousands, the media numbers it at a more reasonable thirty or so."

"Doesn't make me feel any better," Hagakure said, "And if he is behind this, then we may be in serious trouble." Asahina smiled. "It'll be okay. It's been a few days since we've been here. By now the police will be looking for us. After all, that's what happens when you suddenly lose contact with a person, right?" Just then came Monokuma's lighthearted yet sinister laugh. "Are you seriously holding out for the police? Those people are just foils meant to make the bad buys stand out!" Tora eye twitched. "Do not dare belittle the importance of the police department. Without them the criminal justice system would not have a leg to stand on. The actions of detectives, prosecutors, even attorneys like myself would be impossible without the police."

Monokuma looked apologetic. "My bad. I didn't realize it was such a touchy subject. Regardless, I've finally come to an epiphany. Up until now none of you have even made a move on each others lives, and it confused me. But then I realized... I provided you with the setting, characters, situation... Everything that makes a good mystery. But silly me... I had forgotten the motive! Simply granting you escape upon killing another student simply won't cut it. It could be weeks before we have our first kill at this rate. Fortunately, I had already planned out a motive for you ahead of time, but being the forgetful bear I am I never presented it to you."

"And just what sort of 'motive' did you have in mind?," Oowada said, sounding a little skeptical. "You'll find it in the A/V Room," Monokuma said, "A little movie from the outside world. I'm sure you'll understand when you see it for yourselves." Kirigiri smirked. "Well, I suppose we'll have to. But first I want to ask... What is it you want from us?" Monokuma seemed to chuckle silently. "So you still wish to solve the mystery behind all this do you? Well, there's nothing against it in the rules, so I won't stop you. And I suppose I can tell you what I want." His red eye seemed to glow. "Despair... That's all I want right now... The rest you'll have to find out on your own." And with that he disappeared.

* * *

Inside the A/V Room the students found a cardboard box filled with DVDs, one for each of them. Curious, they each took a seat at the individual monitors and popped there's in. Tora looked as he saw his father's office back in Los Angeles. His father, Phoenix Wright, was sitting at his usual desk. With him were Tora's mother, Iris, his adopted sister, Trucy, and Phoenix's two partners, Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes.

'Son,' Phoenix said on the DVD, 'To say I'm proud of you is an understatement. I had first become a lawyer to help save a friend of mine from the dark path he had taken. I never would have dreamed that something like this would happen. For you to carry on this office's great legacy is the greatest joy I've had in years.' Iris spoke next. 'We hope you study hard and make many friends at your new school.' Trucy, cheerful as always, spoke up next. 'I know you can do it. You're no longer the baby brother I used to look after. Just be sure to come home a much stronger person.'

The next moment, the screen seemed to swap to a much darker tone. There was no sign of anyone, the room was plunged into darkness, and the office looked destroyed. Tora's jaw quickly dropped. Sure, he had expected this happy scene to just be the beginning but... Was the Wright Anything Agency truly destroyed? 'The Wright Anything Agency,' came Monokuma's voice, 'Once known as the Wright & Co. Law Offices. But regardless of the name, it was a shining beacon to those falsely accused of terrible crimes. Led by the Ace Attorney himself, a man known to be able to turn any situation around and find the truth. So here is a riddle; What happened to this prestigious law firm?' At the moment, the screen went blank, and then four words were displayed:

FIND OUT AFTER GRADUATION!

Tora's throat suddenly went dry. "Mom... Dad... Trucy..." The need to escape welled up in his mind. But... _'But I can't kill for it. That would make me no better than the people me and dad have put away... The ones who set up our clients. However...'_ He looked around the room and could see the others were just as stunned. Could he trust the others would have the same mindset as him? He joined the others as they discussed the implications of Monokuma's "motive" and from their talks it seemed likely they still weren't giving up just like that.

However, as Naegi tried talking to Maizono, she suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs and ran from the A/V Room. Naegi quickly ran after her to calm her down, soon finding her inside one of the classrooms. Tora and Oowada followed after them. Inside, Maizono was frantic. "Why...?," she cried softly, "What did we do... To deserve this...?" "Maizono," Naegi said softly, trying to calm her, "Hey, Maizono. Relax. I swear, whatever it takes, I'll get you out of here, okay. Just trust me." Maizono looked at him and nodded.

* * *

That night, Tora couldn't seem to sleep. As he heard Naegi and Maizono talking, he couldn't help but notice several psyche-locks appear around Maizono when she said certain things. Those same words had not created psyche-locks when she said them before those horrible movies were revealed, which could only mean one thing... Whatever Maizono had seen had shaken her up badly. Between that and the image he had seen earlier of his father's destroyed office, it was no wonder he was finding it hard to sleep. Then, just as he predicted, his stomach pains acted up.

Even though there was curfew, it was self-imposed and not part of the school rules. However, he knew the cafeteria was locked. Luckily, he had made a habit of taking some food out of the kitchen and hiding it in a small container in the entrance hall. It was a bit of a trek but at worst his stomach pains were annoying, not debilitating. As he opened the door, he spotted Kuwata coming out of his room across the hall, the screwdriver from his tool kit sticking out of his pocket. "Kuwata?," Tora asked, causing Kuwata to jump. "Gah! Don't kill me!"

"Easy," Tora said, "I just came out to get some food to calm my stomach. And before you say it, yes I'm aware that the cafeteria is locked, but I already stashed some food in the entrance hall. But, what are you doing with that screwdriver?" "It's Maizono," Kuwata said, "She's gone off the deep end. I got a letter from her asking her to come to her room. Given how much she seemed to dote on Naegi, I thought she might have gotten bored of him and decided to try someone else. But I take two steps into her room, and suddenly she's attacking me with what looks like a kitchen knife."

"Man... You okay?," Tora said, knowing Kuwata was telling the truth due to the lack of psyche-locks. "I'm fine," Kuwata said, "Maizono hesitated for about a second, giving me enough time to notice her. You should have seen her face, like some psycho out of a slasher flick. I wind up bumping into the back of a desk in her room and spot what looks like a training sword. I quickly grab it and use it to block her next attack. Then I drew it and tried to swing for her hand. As soon as I struck her she dropped the knife. I think I may have even broken her wrist. Anyway, she grabbed the knife in her other hand and ran for the bathroom."

"Sounds like her murder plan failed then," Tora said, "But you still haven't explained why you have your screwdriver. You weren't trying to get revenge were you?" Kuwata shook his head. "I was trying to calm her down. I was banging on the bathroom door trying to get her to open it, but of course she wouldn't, and naturally it was locked. Then I remembered the tool kit, and thought I could use the screwdriver in it to take the lock apart and calm her down." Tora put a hand to his chin. "If she really is as crazed as you say, that may have ended badly. It might be best if more than one person approaches her. Let's wake Naegi, he should be able to help us."

As Tora and Kuwata approached Naegi's room, Tora noticed something odd. "That's weird. The map in the ElectroiD says this is Naegi's room, but it has Maizono's nameplate on it. Kuwata, did you check your ElectroiD to make sure you had the right room?" Judging from Kuwata's shocked expression, he hadn't. "I think I'd better take a look at that note," Tora said. Kuwata handed it over. It was indeed written in Maizono's hand. It also said to "check the nameplates" to make sure Kuwata had the right room. "This explains Maizono's hesitation," Tora said, "She was trying to frame Naegi for her planned murder, but deep down she didn't want to betray him."

Kuwata thought for a second. "If Maizono is Naegi's room, then why wouldn't the bathroom door open? The guys' bathrooms aren't supposed to have locks." "The only one who can answer that is Naegi," Tora said, "And if I'm right, he should be in the adjacent room... Maizono's room." Sure enough, Naegi's nameplate had been placed over Maizono's door. Ringing the doorbell a few times, Tora waited until Naegi, looking a little sleepy, opened the door. "Tora... Kuwata... What's going on?"

"We've had a near incident," Tora said, "Maizono lured Kuwata into a trap to try and kill him. Can you tell me why you and her are in each others' rooms?" Naegi stared blankly, then sadly closed his eyes. "Well, Maizono said she was afraid that someone was trying to enter her room to kill her. She asked me if we could switch rooms for the night." Kuwata sighed. "You're lucky she was too hesitant to carry out her plan, or else she might have killed me. By the way, how come your bathroom door is locked?" Naegi looked puzzled, then realized something.

He hurried over to his room, and found to his surprised that the door was still unlocked. "Are you sure she's still alive?," Tora asked Kuwata. "She was alive when she ran into the bathroom," Kuwata said, "But if she hasn't come out to lock the door..." The three of them hurried inside. Maizono, still frazzled, was in the bathroom trying to calm herself. Her right hand was in serious pain, and her left hand could barely hold the knife she had taken from the kitchen. _'What was I thinking? I'm no killer. And Naegi... I could never frame him for something like this.'_

Suddenly she heard someone just outside the bathroom, and remembered that she hadn't locked the door to Naegi's room. She stood up and held the knife defensively, but relaxed when the door opened normally. Maizono dropped the knife, realizing who it was. Sure enough, there was Naegi, his face fraught with worry. Maizono began to tear up, and she threw herself into Naegi's arms. "Naegi... I'm so sorry... I tried to believe you... But... But what I saw..." Naegi did his best to comfort Maizono. Tora looked around the room. Judging from the state of it, Maizono must have really been in a frenzy when she tried to kill Kuwata.

_'This could easily have ended in tragedy,'_ he thought, _'If my stomach pains hadn't acted up...'_ He closed his eyes. _'Mother... You always said that the Fey blood carries a strong spiritual power within it, which can, in various ways, warn a person of impending danger. That blood flows through my veins as well. Perhaps the spirits were trying to warn me.'_ His thoughts again turned to the image in the movie, and he prayed that his family was still safe somewhere.

After that, Maizono joined Naegi in her own room. With Naegi's room trashed, it was temporarily unusable. Just in case, Tora and Kuwata stood guard outside. They knew as long as they didn't fall asleep they weren't breaking any rules. Hoping to de-stress, Maizono decided to make love with Naegi. Naturally, this was done in the shower so the security camera wouldn't make them feel uncomfortable. Afterwards, they laid down together in her bed. While Maizono enjoyed, she felt there was something odd. "Naegi," she said, "This was... Our first time, yes?"

"Well," Naegi said, "I'm pretty sure it was. Why?" Maizono looked at him. "Because... It didn't hurt as much as I thought my first time would. And doing it with you... It almost felt... Familiar." Naegi was stunned. He knew Maizono was fiercely protective of her chastity, but the fact that her first time didn't hurt... Was it really her first time? He had no way of knowing whether or not it was his. Sure, he was positive it was his first time, but guys had no way of checking except for their memories. Still, the two of them pushed the thought from their minds and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

From the fact that all sixteen students were assembled in the cafeteria the next day, Tora knew that everyone else had decided to stick to the curfew. He calmly explained the situation with Kuwata and Maizono, who's wrist was heavily bandaged with a splint after Kuwata broke it with the practice sword. When Tora got to the part about Maizono and Naegi spending the rest of the night together, Ishimaru shouted, "Unacceptable! Such behavior is unwholesome!" "Hey give 'em a break man!," Kuwata shouted back, "Naegi's room is trashed, and Maizono was freaking out after seeing her movie! Heck, one or both us could be dead right now if not for Tora!"

"Indeed," Tora said, "There's too much of a psychological danger from Monokuma's 'motive'. We need to remove it as a threat, and the only way to do that is to watch each others' movies." They headed for the A/V Room and played the movies on by one. They showed various videos of the students friends and family, followed by the scene destroyed and their loved ones nowhere to be found. However, when they got to Maizono's movie, it was different. In the dark scene, after a quick concert video, all four of Maizono's friends from her girl group were lying on the floor. It was difficult to tell whether or not they were simply unconscious... Or dead.

Togami growled. "I had thought this was going to be a game of equals. But from the look of this, it seems like the bastard who brought us here was deliberately trying to turn Maizono into a murderer." "But there's no way Maizono would kill anyone," Naegi said, "Even if she was planning on it... After all, she hesitated, which is why Kuwata is still alive." Tora nodded. "And when I spotted Kuwata coming out of his room, he had the screwdriver from his tool kit in his pocket. He was going to try and talk Maizono down. But in her frenzied state, and with her right wrist broken..."

Everyone realized what Tora was getting at. If he hadn't spotted Kuwata, he could very easily have accidentally killed Maizono. And then he would have been forced to try and clean up the crime scene so he wouldn't be found out. "Well," Kuwata said, "It was Naegi's room Maizono was in. Once everyone found that out, you guys probably would have found out it was me after all." "Would that have been enough?," Kirigiri wondered. Maizono thought about it. "I suppose, I could have written Kuwata's name in my blood. I wouldn't have wanted Naegi to be framed for my own death." All in all, the students had to agree; no matter the outcome, both Maizono and Kuwata could easily have been killed because of this incident.

* * *

Later that day Monokuma called the students back to the gym. "I understand there was a small... Incident last night," the bear said nonchalantly, "I'm very surprised no one died because of it. I must say I underestimated you. Naturally, due to Maizono's injury I unlocked the infirmary for you and had her broken wrist stabilized. The bone wasn't _too_ broken, so it should fine after about a week or too. Providing no one takes advantage of her situation that is." He chuckled at the thought of it.

"I hope you didn't bring us out here just to discuss Maizono's injury," Togami said. "Sharp one, aren't you?," Monokuma said, "I was going to do this after an actual murder had occurred, but what the heck. I'll mention it anyway. As you may have surmised, just killing another student is not enough to graduate. You must also get away with it. Therefore, once a murder has been committed, and again I must express my surprise that one hasn't yet, there will be a school trial where you all try to determine who the killer is. The concept of the trial is simple. If you successfully find the guilty party, they will be punished. Should you fail, however, everyone _except_ the guilty party will be punished, and said guilty party will graduate."

"Um," Fujisaki said, "What do you mean 'punished'?" Monokuma chuckled again. "I mean... Execution! Zapped in an electric chair, choked by poison gas, sliced apart by a hurricane... You get the idea." "Now wait just a minute!," Enoshima said, "Nobody's even died yet, and you're going on about class trials?! There's no way I'm participating in all this! Making us kill each other, then making us find out who did it?!" Monokuma pretended to shake. "Oh my, such un-bear-able evil! But I will not falter! I will simply have to penalize you!"

However, before either of them could make a move, Tora placed his arm in front of Enoshima. "There's no need for this. So long as no one kills anyone else there won't even BE a class trial. I'll admit we had a near miss with Maizono and a Kuwata, but they are both still alive, and that's all that matters." Enoshima, surprised at Tora's actions, nodded with a stunned look on her face. "Well now," Monokuma said, "Isn't that just like a Super High School Level Attorney to come to the defense of another. Very well, I officially call off my penalty. Just make sure to adhere to the rules and everything will be fine. Oh, and since no one had died yet, I will do something special for you all. If no one dies before morning tomorrow, I will open up the second floor for you to explore. Farewell for now."

Once Monokuma left, Togami nodded to Oogami, who grabbed Enoshima in a big bear hug. "What's going on?," Maizono said. Togami adjusted his glasses. "Enoshima was deliberately provoking Monokuma. That's rather suspicious to me." "Plus there's something else," Tora said, "When I asked Enoshima earlier about how she looks different than her magazine photos, she claimed it was done with photo-editing. But putting aside the fact that a red psyche-lock formed after she said that, there's no way anyone who relies on photo-editing would be given the title 'Super High School Level Model'. The school would have much higher expectations than that."

"For now Enoshima is a liability," Togami said, "Whether she's working for the one behind all this or not is unknown, but she cannot be allowed out of our sight." And with that, Enoshima was placed in the infirmary, tied to one of the hospital beds by one of Oowada's chains. Back in the gym, Tora, Togami, and Oogami searched the room to find out why Enoshima would try and provoke Monokuma into attacking her. "The floor has a few small hollow spots," Oogami said, "The seem covered up for some reason." Tora noticed something interesting in the podium where Monokuma always appeared from.

He called Togami and Oogami over. "This looks like a voice command module," Tora said, "The command is... Spear of Gungnir?" After a few seconds, several sharp spears quickly stabbed at a single point. The three of them stood there in disbelief. The point where the spears hit was where Enoshima had been standing earlier when she provoked Monokuma. If not for Tora, Enoshima could very well be dead right now. "Interesting," Togami said, "I'm even more convinced now that the mastermind behind this is simply toying with us." "We've avoided three deaths," Tora said, "Can we make it through this keeping all of us alive? How far will this bastard push us in an effort to make us kill each other?"

To be continued...

**Well, this is fun. And hey, no one's died so far.**


	3. Chapter 2: Weekly Shounen Hope

**Time to make the dominoes fall. Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Chapter 2: Weekly Shounen Hope Magazine

Naegi returned to his room to find it fully repaired, with no sign of the damage from Maizono and Kuwata's fight. Needing to calm himself down after all the craziness, he went and took a shower. As he entered, a brief image appeared in his mind. Maizono, lying slumped there, a kitchen knife sticking out of her stomach. _'If Tora had been just a minute later...'_ Naegi shook his head. Maizono was fine, and managing to recover after what happened. The fact that a murder had been averted seemed to relieve a lot of the tension among the students, but Naegi couldn't help but wonder how the one behind all this truly felt about it.

* * *

The Puppetmaster sat in a secret room and watched as his proxy looked over the monitors. With the exception of a few places where one would require privacy, the cameras could see all over the school. The proxy was, at best, mildly perturbed that no one had died. The Puppetmaster, on the other hand, was truly displeased that his first planned murder had failed. Not only that, but a later set-up had been interrupted and he had no way of fixing the problem. Still, he knew he was on a deadline. There was no choice but to move forward.

* * *

In order to make sure Enoshima could not be punished for breaking a rule just because of the students' precautions, the decided to make sure she was kept in her room. Her key was taken from her to make sure couldn't leave until they came for her the next day. When she was transferred back to the infirmary the next morning, she saw Naegi helping Maizono change her bandages. Maizono thought she saw Enoshima looking at her forlornly. "Something wrong?," Maizono asked.

"Oh," Enoshima said, "Nothing, just glad you're okay is all." However, Maizono couldn't help but overhear some of Enoshima's surface thoughts. _'She's getting to spend more time with Naegi all of a sudden. I can't tell them anything, and Kirigiri is almost a vegetable. What happened to the fun times the three of us had fighting over Naegi?'_ "We were fighting over Naegi?," Maizono said, "But we just met a week ago." Enoshima became shocked. _'Oh crap, I forgot she's an esper!'_ Maizono looked confused. Sure, she had joked about pretending to be an esper with Naegi, even though she really was, but no one else should know that.

* * *

Just as Monokuma promised, the second floor had opened up, as had the bath and storeroom of the first floor. "Look guys!," Asahina said excitedly, "There's a pool on this floor! And workout rooms with gym equipment!" "Sweet," Kuwata said, "Now I have a way to keep in shape." Naegi laughed. "I thought you hated practicing." Kuwata laughed back. "I never said I hated workouts." "How do we get the doors open?," Oogami wondered. That's when Monokuma decided to pop up again. "I'm glad you asked. And I know I keep saying that everything here is simple, but please don't take that as an insult to your intelligence. None of you would even be here if you weren't a bunch of smarty-pants."

He pointed to a small scanner near the doors. "All you have to do is hold your ElectroiD up to that scanner. The guys' room will only except guys' ElectroiDs, and vice-versa for the girls' room." "What happens if someone sneaks in while the door's open?," Asahina asked. Monokuma pointed at the large Gatling Gun suspended on the ceiling. "If such a thing were to occur, it would be considered an illicit act and the offending party shall be fired upon." Kuwata rubbed the back of his head. "Talk about strict. Even my junior league didn't enforce the rules THIS harshly."

"And what if someone should borrow another person's ElectroiD?," Celes asked. "Oops!," Monokuma said, "I should have taken that into account. I'll have to amend the rules to make it illegal to trade ElectroiDs. We can't have anything X-rated going on in the school now." "That didn't seem to matter when Naegi and Maizono were in her shower doing the two-way tango," Kuwata said. "What you kids do in your dorms is your own business," Monokuma said, "Though I will admit I wish they had done it in a place other than the shower." Naegi growled. "Excuse us for feeling uncomfortable around the security cameras."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the second floor library, Yamada and Fukawa were getting into a serious argument about the differences and similarities of doujin and romance novels. Fujisaki had earlier walked out with a broken down laptop, no doubt planning on fixing it. Looking around, Tora spotted a letter with the school's coat of arms on it. Opening it up, he said, "Hey guys, listen to this. Seems the school was supposedly closed down about a year ago in regards to some terrible event. The closing was meant to be temporary, but from the look of things the Puppetmaster took control of the building while it was still empty."

"If the school had already been abandoned," Togami said, "Then that would explain the absence of any other students. But why wouldn't we have heard anything about this on the news? Perhaps the Puppetmaster's reach goes farther than we thought." Kirigiri nodded. "In which case, our initial theory of this being the work of Genocider Shou may be false." Just then, there was an alert from their ElectroiDs. Tora took a look. "Seems the school rules have been updated."

7. A Class Trial will be held a short length of time following a murder committed among the students. Participation is mandatory.

8. If the villain is correctly identified during the Class Trial, he alone will be executed.

9. If the villain is not correctly identified, he alone will graduate, and the remaining students will be executed.

10. You are forbidden from lending your ElectroiD to anyone.

11. Additional rules may be appended to this list if deemed necessary.

"Well," Tora said, "This eliminates the possibility of accomplices at any rate. If only the killer is allowed to graduate, then there's no point in helping him pull off the crime."

* * *

Maizono was walking to the infirmary to have her bandages changed. The pain had stopped, but the memory was still there. If she could have seen herself in a mirror the night she tried to kill Kuwata, she was certain she would be terrified. When she saw the mirror in the infirmary, however, she was curious. She tried her best impersonation of herself that night. However, because she wasn't being serious, if came off as more goofy than scary. Maizono sighed in relief. _'Looks like sharing that video with the others really helped. I feel like a tremendous weight fell off my shoulders.'_ She looked over to Enoshima and gasped. There was still someone in the bed, but next to them on the counter was a strawberry blonde wig.

* * *

Everyone had assembled in the cafeteria as usual, more to make sure everyone was still alive than anything, as their investigations, while providing a few more clues, were still leading nowhere. Ishimaru looked around the room. "Well, we know Enoshima is still chained up in the infirmary. Where is Maizono?" "She went to the infirmary as well," Tora said, "To change her bandages. She should be here momentarily." Sure enough, at that moment Maizono burst into the cafeteria.

"Guys," she said, almost exasperated, "You won't believe this. Okay, first, good news, Enoshima is still in the infirmary. Bad news, I'm not sure she's really Enoshima. See, when I went to the infirmary, I saw a strawberry blonde wig on the counter near her bed!" The others realized what she was getting at and hurried to the infirmary. When they got there, they were surprised to see Enoshima now sporting a bobby black haircut, and applying what looked like foundation to her right hand. From the look on her face, she wasn't expecting them to come barging in.

After talking with her for a bit, Tora returned to the others in the cafeteria. "Her real is Mukuro Ikusaba," Tora said, "And she's Junko Enoshima's twin sister. That means Enoshima's whereabouts are currently unknown." Fukawa gulped. "You don't think... She could be dead... Do you?" Tora closed his eyes. "Ikusaba is still tight lipped about a few things. I was able to find out about the foundation she was applying. She was trying to cover up her tattoo, which is a brand of Fenrir Company, a group of mercenaries bankrolled by the US Government. She also claims to be a student in the same class as us."

"I was under the impression that only sixteen students would be making up our class," Oogami said, "Now we have a seventeenth?" Yamada scratched his chin. "Just how many other students are there in this school. We had thought it was just the sixteen of us and the Puppetmaster." "Well we do have one riddle solved at least," Togami said, "Why 'Enoshima' looked different from her magazine pictures." He thought for a second. "Could there be a possibility that Enoshima is the Puppetmaster? Or... Is she simply a captive, and the Puppetmaster simply used her as a hostage to manipulate Ikusaba. Either way, I get the feeling Ikusaba was in on all this." Tora nodded. "She was meant to be, but when I told her about the 'Spear of Gungnir' trap, she froze. It was clear she wasn't expecting to be killed."

* * *

Since Maizono didn't have a chance to change her bandages, Kirigiri decided to help her. Ikusaba, still chained to the other bed, watched them for a bit before saying, "Say, Kirigiri, do you... Remember anything about Naegi?" Kirigiri looked surprised. "Should I? We only met a week ago. Then again, I've been having trouble remembering much of anything, even why I came to this school. I can't even remember my special talent." Ikusaba nodded sadly. "What about you, Maizono?" "Well," Maizono said, "I do remember Naegi from middle school, but that's about it."

Ikusaba sighed sadly. "Man, this bites. I miss the good old days. The three of us acting like friendly rivals... Naegi blissfully caught in the middle..." Kirigiri's eyes widened. "The... Three of us...?" Ikusaba suddenly realized she was saying too much. "Oh... It's nothing, just thinking out loud. Don't mind me." Maizono tapped her chin. "Ikusaba... Do you have a crush on Naegi?" Ikusaba rubbed the back of her head. "Well... Yeah... But I'm sure my sister would be mad if I tried to get involved with you guys. She may be the younger sister, but well... She's always been the stronger of us."

"That doesn't make any sense," Kirigiri said, "You almost sound like you're subservient to her. But a Super High School Level Mercenary should have a stronger mindset than that." "You mentioned a rivalry with the three of us," Maizono said, "But how can that be? Kirigiri hasn't shown any real attraction to Naegi. Then again... She doesn't show much emotion at all. Kirigiri, could you secretly be harboring feeling for Naegi too?" Kirigiri blushed nervously, causing Maizono to giggle happily. "Oh my gosh, you do! Maybe this three-way rivalry isn't so far-fetched after all!"

* * *

As Togami and Tora watched while Oowada and Ishimaru got into a sauna duel, they got to talking. "I wonder why we're still keeping Ikusaba under surveillance," Togami said, "From what you got out of her, it's likely her role is done. There's even a strong possibility that we can use the fact that the Puppetmaster planned on killing her to our advantage, turning her to our side." Tora chuckled. "Always planning, right Togami? Up until we shared those movies, you seemed perfectly alright with playing the game set out for us."

Togami smiled. "At first I thought this game was all about King of the Castle. Everyone playing against each other until only one person won. But it's clear the Puppetmaster is rigging the game to his benefit. He's clearly planning on making himself the winner through cheap, though admittedly effective, mind games. We all saw it with our own eyes. Only Maizono's movie has readily confirmed bodies. Only she would have been pushed to murder. But at the same time there's no way she could have killed someone. She wasn't just hesitating to betray Naegi, she was hesitating to kill Kuwata."

When the announcement for nighttime came up, Tora knocked on the sauna door. "Hey guys, it's nighttime. Why not call it a draw and get some sleep?" "No way!," came Ishimaru's voice, "In any battle, there can be no draw!" "Damn straight!," came Oowada's voice, "We'll stay in here until we have a clear-cut winner!" Togami tried. "Well, it would be a waste to try any further. Those two must really want to settle this. We may as well not lose sleep over it." "Good idea," Tora said, "We'll let them sort it out themselves." And with that, they headed for their dorm rooms.

* * *

The next morning during breakfast, things seemed to be like a normal school. Ishimaru and Oowada had bonded during their duel in the sauna and become like brothers. Kirigiri and Maizono had stayed with Ikusaba in her room and now the three of them had officially gotten their rivalry over Naegi started. Celes looked around the room in astonishment. "I had said we should adapt to our new conditions, but I wasn't expecting it to actually happen." "Don't mistake the situation," Tora said, "Finding the Puppetmaster is still our top priority. But because all of us are cooperating, it's relieving a great deal of the tension this situation would normally create.

* * *

Later, Naegi saw Fukawa running out of the library. She seemed to be breathing heavily. "Togami... Togami..." "Did something happen?," Naegi asked. Fukawa stood up. "Togami... Told me to go take a bath!" She whirled around, and there was a look of admiration on her face. "He must really be worried about me! Hey, Naegi. Do you think it could work... With me and Togami, I mean? I guess there's no real way to know, but that's just how love works, right?" And with that, she happily skipped away, sighing dreamily. "Wow," Naegi said, "Everyone here is pretty quirky..."

* * *

Monokuma called everyone to the gymnasium just before. Once they got there, with Ikusaba staying as far away from her previous spot just in case, Monokuma popped up from behind the podium. "Welcome students. First, I have a complaint to make. What with everything that's been happening so far, I'm getting bored. I mean sure, we had that little altercation between Kuwata and Maizono. That certainly was fun, even if no one wound up dead from it. But now that it's over, things are starting to lull again. Therefore, I've decided to set up your next incentive."

_'A new motive for murder,'_ Naegi thought, _'What could he have in mind this time?'_ "Today's motive," Monokuma said, "Has to do with secrets. Everyone who's ever lived has accumulated a number of secrets. Sometimes they tell them, sometimes they don't. But more often than not those secrets are rather embarrassing. And with that..." He brought out a number of envelopes, one for each of them. "I've done some digging on each of you, and have uncovered some pretty interesting skeletons in your closets. I've picked the worst ones I could find, and hidden them in these envelopes."

He tossed the envelopes to the students, who picked up the one bearing their name. Each of them opened the envelope and gasped. Well, except for Tora, who simply raised an eyebrow. _'Wait, I don't have prader-willi syndrome. The doctors officially diagnosed me with a rare genetic defect that doesn't even have a name yet.'_ "You all have twenty-four hours," Monokuma said, "If I don't have a villain by then, these secrets will be revealed to the outside world!"

Now it was everyone else who raised an eyebrow. "Listen, I know what you're expecting," Naegi said, "But as embarrassing as my secret is, it's not something I'd kill over." The others were in agreement. "Oh... I see," Monokuma said, a little disheartened, "Wow... I thought memories of your lives before would rekindle your desire to escape. Well, I suppose I'll have to get what little excitement I can from revealing your secrets tomorrow." And with that, he disappeared. "Well then," Ishimaru said, "Just as what was done with the movies, our best chance of avoiding a murder is to reveal our secrets to each other."

"I'll pass," Fukawa said, "While I agree none of our secrets are worth killing over, there's still no way I'd ever reveal mine." Fujisaki spoke up. "I think we should. At the very least, it might lessen the tension in our group. I mean, knowing that each of us has a secret hidden might wind up getting us mistrusting each other again, and we were well on our way to becoming friends." Ikusaba sighed. "Mine's moot regardless." She reveled her letter, which read, "Junko Enoshima is Mukuro Ikusaba in disguise." "And mine's fake," Tora said, showing his letter, which read, "Tora Wright has prader-willi syndrome."

"What is 'prader-willi syndrome'?," Yamada asked. "It's an eating disorder," Tora explained, "The afflicted is born with a flawed hypothalamus, making it impossible to receive signals from the stomach to indicate it's full. In other words, a person with this syndrome feels hungry constantly. However, what I have is a more physical problem. You see, I was born with a genetic defect that doesn't even have a name yet. It causes my stomach acids to work a little harder. Not enough to cause complications, but it does cause uncomfortable stomach pains. I usually just need to eat something, or drink something other than water, and the pain goes away. Heck, I sometimes even sneak a drink or two into court if I think it's gonna be a long trial."

Fujisaki looked like she wanted to tell her secret, but said, "I'm sorry... I'm not ready yet. I'll get stronger first, then maybe I can tell my secret." Regardless, it was clear that none of the students was going to kill over something so trivial. No one had a past that dark. They all went back to their rooms, confident in the knowledge that no one would try to murder just to keep a secret. After all, the weight of those secrets was far less than the weight of another's person death on one's hands.

* * *

Later that evening, Tora felt his stomach pains act up again. He headed to the storeroom to take care of it. He was glad it had opened up, it eliminated the need to sneak food out of the kitchen. As he walked toward it, he spotted Fujisaki hurry out of the bath carrying a duffle bag. Celes came out of the storeroom shortly afterward. "You do realize it's almost curfew," Tora said, "Considering you suggested it in the first place, I'd have thought you'd follow it to the letter.." Celes smiled. "Well in all fairness, the curfew is little more than a mutual agreement. After all, so far you, Kuwata, Maizono, and Naegi have broken it."

"Speaking of that," Tora said, "Kuwata said earlier he was going to patrol the halls to make sure no one would leave their room before retiring himself. I wonder how he's doing." At that moment, they heard a yell coming from the second floor. "That sounded like Kuwata," Celes said, showing genuine concern. They soon found the source of the scream had come from the men's changing room, the door of which was wide open. Celes stayed outside while Tora went to investigate.

Inside the changing room was what looked like the aftermath of a serious argument. Kuwata was slumped against the wall clutching his arm. From the look of pain on his face, it had been broken. Oowada was sitting on the bench, a look of absolute horror on his face. A thirty-pound dumbbell lay on the ground near him. The next thing Tora saw surprised him. Fujisaki was standing near the lockers, breathing heavily. "Fujisaki," Tora said, "How did you sneak into the men's changing room without setting off the alarm?"

"Damn," came Oowada's voice, "Guess there's no avoiding the elephant in the room here. Sorry Fujisaki. I was planning on keeping your secret, but I guess that's impossible now." Tora raised an eyebrow. "You haven't pieced it together?," Kuwata said, "Fujisaki is actually a guy." Tora's eyes went wide. "You mean... He's crossdressing? Well, that explains quite a bit. But getting back to more serious issues, Kuwata what happened to your arm?"

"I was finishing up my patrol of the second floor," Kuwata said, "When I spotted Fujisaki. I was stunned to find him using his ElectroiD to open the men's changing room, and I realized what his secret had to be. When I heard Oowada's voice greeting him in a surprised manner, I suddenly froze. After the incident with Maizono, I figured it would be bad if any less than three of us were alone together. So I opened the door with my own ElectroiD, and saw something crazy. While Fujisaki's back was turned, Oowada, with an angry look on his face, started reaching for a nearby dumbbell. I quickly yelled to warn Fujisaki, and the next thing I know Oowada's taking a swing at me."

"As soon as I heard Kuwata scream," Oowada said, "I snapped out of it, and realized what I was about to do. I dropped the dumbbell then and there. Sorry about this Kuwata." "It's fine," Kuwata said, "I may be in a lot of pain here, but it could be a whole lot worse. It's not like you got my throwing arm. Besides, if you hadn't swung at me..." Tora closed his eyes. It was clear Oowada had come within inches of killing Fujisaki on sheer impulse. "What made you so angry in the first place?," Kuwata asked.

Oowada sighed. "Well, earlier Fujisaki had asked me to meet him near the changing rooms just after curfew. While I waited I decided I may as well get a work-out in. Imagine my surprise when Fujisaki, who I thought was a girl, was able to get inside the men's changing room without raising the alarm. He then told me his secret, straight up. He then told me how he wanted to get stronger... To rise above his personal weaknesses. What he said hit home for me. Just hearing his words reminded me of my brother... The brother... I killed."

He wasn't surprised to hear gasps coming from the others. "First off, let me say something. I didn't directly kill him. But... I may as well have. See, back when he was alive, my brother Daia was the leader of the Crazy Diamond. While he always acknowledged my strength, the other gang members were always comparing me to him. So when the time came for Daia to retire, I challenged him to a final race. However... I was careless. I was so determined to win that without thinking I ran into oncoming traffic. Just as a truck was about to run me over, Daia pushed me out of the way, and he got run over instead. As he lay there dying in my arms, he made me promise to keep the gang together."

Fujisaki seemed to cry at Oowada's story. Oowada smiled. "I never told anyone about happened that day, not even my gang." At that moment, Tora's eyes narrowed. "Oowada, a black psyche-lock appeared around you just now. Are you sure you never told anyone about this?" Oowada hesitated. "I'm pretty sure I didn't. Anyway, when I heard Fujisaki more willing to tell his secret than me... I dunno, it almost felt like he was mocking me by claiming I was stronger than him. I realize that wasn't his intention but... Anyway, in my anger I reached for the dumbbell. Next thing I heard was Kuwata's voice and... Well, you know the rest."

* * *

The next day, after hearing about the incident with Oowada and Fujisaki, the others agreed that it was indeed for the best that their secrets be shared. Naegi embarrassingly showed his note. "Makoto Naegi wet the bed every night until fifth-grade." "Dude," Hagakure said, "Isn't that an early sign of a serial killer?" "That actually a common misconception," Fukawa said. Maizono's note said, "Sayaka Maizono once punched a music producer."

The others looked at her, surprised. "Well you see, he was trying to turn our music video video into something more... Slutty," Maizono explained, "And to top it all off, he actually tried pressuring one of my friends into having sex with him. Needless to say, I didn't take kindly to that. After I punched him, he tried to ruin us in the media. But our reputation was stronger and he was outed as a pedophile. And yet no one else found about me punching him." Kirigiri's note said, "Kyouko Kirigiri has scars on her hands."

She then removed one of her gloves to show what it meant. "Jeez," Oowada said, "How did that happen?" "I can't really remember," Kirigiri said, "Ikusaba was able to tell me that my title is Super High School Level Detective, which does sound familiar, so I can only assume these scars came from a time when I was a simple amateur." Togami's note said, "Byakuya Togami's older brother was disowned." "I suppose this is the best the Puppetmaster could come up with," Togami said, "As I always use legitimate methods when doing business. I wasn't trying to keep this a secret out of embarrassment, but rather tradition. My brother made a mistake, and he paid for it. Nothing more needs to be said."

Of course, they all knew what Fujisaki's would say. "Chihiro Fujisaki is a crossdressing boy." So they simply moved on to Ishimaru's. "Kiyotaka Ishimaru has an alternate persona named Ishida." "It's not really an alternate personality per se," Ishimaru said, "Just a side of me that comes out whenever my emotions reach a fever pitch. I still maintain my usual ethical code as a prefect, but when I become Ishida I wind up becoming far more open with others. In fact, I'd say this secret may be the least embarrassing out of all of us."

Celes showed her note next. "Celestia Ludenberg's real name is Taeko Yasuhiro." "It's really rather embarrassing to admit," Celes said, "Before I become Celestia Ludenberg I was just a plain girl. I'm also... Kind of a geek. I'm practically obsessed with Western culture, especially Europe during the Elizabethan Era. That's why I became a gambler in the first place, to make enough money to live like the people in those times." Fukawa reluctantly revealed her's next. "Touko Fukawa is Genocider Shou." "Hold on," Asahina said, "That can't be right. You're afraid of blood. What kind of killer is afraid of blood?"

"Actually," Fukawa said, "I have dissociative identity disorder. Genocider Shou is simply an alternate personality. I've already told Togami about this." "Apparently," Togami said, "Fukawa turns into Genocider Shou whenever she faints or sneezes." Yamada laughed. "That's way too cliche." "Oh yeah?," Fukawa said, and she tickled her nose with one of her pigtails. Shortly after sneezing, her eyes turned red and her tongue seemed to grow longer. As if she was a completely different person, she stood up straight and said, "Did you guys wanna see me?"

The group explained the situation to her, and she nodded. "I thought something funny was going on. The little introvert kept me locked away for days for some reason. I was starting to get worried about how much she would smell, not wanting to bath and all that." Genocider then noticed Fujisaki's note and gasped. "Oh crap, this is worst possible time to kill you. Even if I hadn't known you for so long, I'm in a spotlight now." "Spotlight?," Asahina asked. "If Genocider did decide to kill one of us," Togami said, "It would have to be in her usual M.O., stabbing and crucifying the victim with scissors and then using their blood to write 'bloodbath fever' on the wall."

"Yeah," Genocider said, "I might as well say, 'Hey folks, I just killed someone!' I'd be executed for sure. And as someone who takes her work very seriously, there's no way I'd do something like that." "Well," Ishimaru said, "It's not like there's any scissors here for you to use." Genocider simply laughed and brought out two pairs of scissors from under her skirt. "TA-DA! I never go anywhere without my hand-made 'Genoscissors'." "By the way," Tora said, "What did you mean when you said you knew Fujisaki for a while?" "Huh?," Genocider said, "You guys don't remember? I thought you already knew about me. Anyway, the point is, I don't kill friends, no exceptions. Even if they do happen to be my preferred victim."

"Uh," Asahina said, "Can we move on from this? I think I was next to reveal my secret, right?" Asahina note read, "Aoi Asahina used to be fat." This revelation caused Genocider. "You used to be a tub of lard?! Must be all the doughnuts! Guess that's why you decided to get into swimming." She laughed so hard she wound up sneezing, causing Fukawa to take over again. "Uh... What happened?" "Asahina was revealing her secret to us," Naegi said, "You didn't miss much." Fukawa took a quick peek and snickered. "Okay, that's interesting. Glad to see you recovered from something like that."

Oogami sighed. "The difference between the two of them is like night and day. Regardless, I believe it's my turn." Oogami's note read, "Sakura Oogami has a terminally-ill boyfriend." "Wait... Really?," Asahina said, dumbstruck. The others were similarly stunned. "What kind of guy could actually fall in love with someone like you?," Oowada said, "No offense." Oogami simply smiled. "I was not always this muscular. It is simply a means of warding off those who would challenge me for my boyfriend's title, which he passed on to me while on his sickbed."

She explained how her boyfriend was the one man who had ever beaten her. Even before she achieved her current physical state she was a champion fighter who had never lost a match... Until she met Kenichiro. When he was able to defeat her and still keep a smile on his face, it melted Oogami's heart. Their relationship went well until the day Kenichiro took ill. When the illness was determined to be terminal, he passed his title of world's strongest title to Oogami, who vowed to return it should he recover. "After that I trained achieve a form that fewer people would so readily challenge," Oogami finished, "The form you see before you now. Naturally, I have the means to return to my previous form when Kenichiro awakens."

"So you think he's still alive even now," Ikusaba said. Oogami nodded. "As long as he lives, he will fight. Whether it be an enemy without, or within." Yamada was the next to reveal his secret. "Hifumi Yamada is attracted to real women." "That's not so strange," Naegi said. Tora chuckled. "Except Yamada has constantly reminded us that he prefers 2d women. But I'm guessing that's merely an excuse to keep your thoughts to yourself, right Yamada?" "Indeed," Yamada said nervously, "One must keep their perversions under control in public society. Otaku such as myself have it bad enough as it is. Things only get worse when people think of you as a creep."

Hagakure revealed his secret next. "Yasuhiro Hagakure has been hiding from the Yakuza." "It was a fortune gone bad," Hagakure said, "I flat out told them not all my predictions came true, and they still blew it out of proportion. Thought I was scamming them somehow and I wound up in hiding for three years. That's why I was held back." Oowada had already revealed his. "Mondo Oowada killed his older brother." That just left Kuwata. "Leon Kuwata hates baseball." "Well to be more accurate," Kuwata said, "I thought I hated baseball. See, I met this chick in a hair salon who said she liked musicians, so when I got to Hope's Peak I thought I could change my title to score with her. But not having played in so long... I'm really starting to miss it."

Togami looked over all the secrets that had been revealed. "Well, it's clear that none of these secrets are worth killing over... On their own." "What do you mean?," Maizono asked. "Even Oowada's, which is probably the darkest out of all the secrets, is not something he'd kill to keep," Togami explained, "But one must read between the lines here. The Puppetmaster is playing mind games with us. Taking into account what happened with Oowada, Fujisaki, and Kuwata, I'm willing to bet that the Puppetmaster was counting on Fujisaki telling his secret to someone."

"Of course," Naegi said, "He said he wanted to get stronger. One would assume, not knowing his real gender, that training with Oogami would be a good idea. But Fujisaki knew he wouldn't be able to get into the girl's changing room without setting off an alarm. His best option would be Oowada." "And with Oowada's obsession with strength," Kirigiri said, "Hearing someone else admit to their weakness would make them seem even stronger than him, which would set him off... Albeit unintentionally. If not for Kuwata's intervention, Fujisaki would not be here with us now." "Looks like fate favors us," Hagakure said, "Tora stopped Kuwata from accidentally killing Maizono, and now Kuwata has prevented Oowada from killing Fujisaki on impulse."

* * *

From his hidden control room, the Puppetmaster frowned. "Fate does seem to favor you. It's not something I would normally take stock in, but the evidence is as plain as day. My proxy may be alright with no one killing each other, but I am not. My plans should have succeeded. I knew I should have killed Tora Wright, he's wound up ruining everything. The series of events I planned out are interrupted beyond repair. Even though I already have a mole on the inside, I know she will not act out of a sense of pride. That is my intention." He checked something on the calender near him. "I can't count on anything getting done right anymore, but I still need to move on with the plan."

To be continued...

**I told you folks that this story would be longer.**


	4. Chapter 3: Plans Interrupted

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Chapter 3: Plans Interrupted

There was a growing sense of relief with every morning that came with all sixteen students still alive. So far they had avoided two murders, a total of five deaths, and had only suffered two non-lethal injuries. Kuwata seemed to be doing okay despite his arm now being kept in a sling. "By now," Ishimaru said, "The Puppetmaster should have gotten bored enough to open new areas for us in spite of there being no deaths so far. I propose we look around the school after breakfast and see for ourselves."

Ishimaru's assertions proved to correct, as the entire third floor had been opened up for the students. Celes and Tora soon found the rec room, with all manner of casual games. "I always wished we could install a pool table in dad's office," Tora said, "But there was never enough room." Celes nodded. "There's also Othello, darts, shogi, even a number of magazines. It's certainly nice to have a place to relax besides our dorms." Tora took a look at the magazines and raised an eyebrow. "That's strange, the date on these magazines suggest they shouldn't be out until next year. Even if you consider the Puppetmaster has a subscription, at most he should receive these a month in advance, not a whole year."

Meanwhile, several of the students located what looked like an art room. Yamada in particular looked very excited. "Guess he's stoked to finally continue his work," Hagakure said, "I personally don't get it, but hey, whatever makes the man happy." Inside the storage area of the art room, Oowada noticed a bunch of various supplies. "They must have been stocked up for all kinds of students." He then noticed a photograph lying on the floor. He went to pick it up, and gasped.

The picture depicted himself, Kuwata, and Fujisaki together. The thing was, there was nothing like this scene in his memories. He showed the others outside, and they were all equally flabbergasted. "Well," Fukawa said, "It's not like you guys aren't friends or anything, so maybe you simply forgot you had taken this picture." "At first I thought the same thing," Oowada said, "Except... Do any of you remember bringing a camera? Besides, look at the windows in the picture. There are no iron plates. And while Kuwata has forgiven me enough that a scene like this is possible, his arm looks perfectly fine here."

Several of the other students were in a large physics lab. "This appears to be more of a research laboratory than a class room," Ishimaru noted, "That large machine in the center, what do you suppose it does?" Kirigiri examined it. "Apparently this was invented by a student named Yasuke Matsuda. Strange... According to this he is supposed to be the Super High School Level Neurologist. Why would he build something for the physics lab?" "Maybe it was the only room big enough to hold it," Ikusaba suggested, "What I wanna know is what it's meant for. I thought it was an air purifier, but if a neurologist built this it must be something else altogether." Naegi noticed a small digital camera. "This could be useful," he said as he picked it up.

* * *

Back at the cafeteria, the students shared what they had found and were left with more questions than answers. "Magazines from the future, photos depicting events that haven't happened," Togami said, "I'm starting to wonder if our memories are what we think they are." "There's more to this picture," Kirigiri said, "It was signed by someone named Mahiru Koizumi." "I've heard that name before," Naegi said, "She's apparently a world-class photographer. If she took this picture, it means she was also going to Hope's Peak Academy."

"But," Ikusaba said, "In order to do that, she would need to be in our class. Classes at Hope's Peak generally don't intermingle. Granted there's no rule against it officially, it's always been more of an unwritten law." "Strange," Togami said, "If we include Ikusaba, there are a total of seventeen students in our class. Yet we now know of a potential eighteenth." "Come to think of it," Yamada said, "When we knew of sixteen students, that seemed like a nice, round number. But when Ikusaba presented herself as a seventeenth student... Could it be there are more students in our class then we realized? If so, why do we know nothing about them?"

"This is likely more of the Puppetmaster's work," Kirigiri said, "He may have manipulated us into thinking there would only be sixteen students." Yamada then noticed the camera Naegi had. "Hey wait a second... Aha, I thought I recognized the camera you hold." "You do?," Naegi asked. Yamada noticed. "It's mine, as it happens. Bought it for a considerable sum from the person who won it at the yearly bingo tournament. It had disappeared our first day here along with my cell phone." The cartoon character pictured on the camera did appear to be within Yamada's taste. Naegi handed to camera back to a grateful Yamada.

"Speaking of which," Kuwata said, "What about that photo Oowada found? I'm pretty sure I'd remember a happy scene like that. I mean, on it's own I could see it being fabricated by the Puppetmaster, but with that and everything else..." Maizono thought for a moment. "I wonder... There's been a lot of signs that our first meeting at the entrance hall, wasn't really our first meeting. Maybe we've known each other for longer than that. We may even be best friends and not even realize it." "That makes this whole game worse!," Asahina said, "I mean, forcing total strangers to kill each other is one thing... But having friends kill each other?!"

"Monokuma did say his goal was creating despair," Kirigiri said, "It's likely he was planning on waiting until only one person remained before revealing the horrible truth." "And of course," Togami said, "There's the fact that we _still_ don't have any way of leaving the school. The sooner we find this Puppetmaster the better." "Not to worry," Fujisaki said, "I have something that may help us big time. I finished putting the finishing touches on it earlier today. Follow me to the bath area. You're gonna love this."

* * *

Inside the changing area of the bath, Fujisaki opened one of the lockers. Inside was the laptop he had taken out of the library. "I noticed there are no security cameras in this room," Fujisaki said, "Areas like this are perfect for hiding things, and the shower in my room is too obvious." "How did you sneak it here?," Celes asked. "That tracksuit wasn't the only thing in my gym bag when you spotted me the other night," Fujisaki replied with a smile, "I stopped by the bath to drop off the laptop before heading to the second floor."

He brought the laptop onto on of the benches and took it out of sleep mode. After a few keystrokes, he said, "Everyone, meet my new assistant... Alter Ego." On the screen came a program that was an exact replica of Fujisaki's face. 'Good morning Master. Oh, are these your friends?' "Whoa," Ishimaru said, "It looks and speaks just like Fujisaki." Fujisaki smiled. "I repaired this laptop and found a lot of encrypted files on it. But I knew I couldn't spend too much time in here trying to decrypt them or it would draw the Puppetmaster's attention. And of course... There was no guarantee I'd survive long in this situation."

"So you created this Alter Ego program," Kirigiri said, "The Alter Ego is a learning AI program which can be used as a proxy for various computer-based tasks." 'That's right,' Alter Ego said, 'Master asked me to decrypt all the files on this laptop. It's more difficult than you would think, which makes me believe they may have something to do with this school.' The others were a little dumbstruck. "How did it hear us just now?," Kuwata asked. Fujisaki giggled. "I was able to find time this morning before breakfast to install a microphone program. That way Alter Ego won't have to rely on typed messages to communicate with us. He also comes with a webcam so he can see us."

"That's amazing Fujisaki!," Asahina said, "We may be able to use this to figure out the Puppetmaster's plan!" Tora tapped his temple in thought. "I think we can do a little more than that, but it will take careful planning on our part." He discussed his plan with the others, who agreed it was a good idea. "It'll take a bit to set up," Fujisaki said, "But I think I can get it done." "In the meantime," Togami said, "We'll need a more secure hiding place, one that's right under the Puppetmaster's nose. A blind spot within his line of sight, as it were." "I think I know just the place," Kirigiri said, "I found it during our earlier investigations."

* * *

The girl's later took a bath to make it less obvious why they all there in the first place. Meanwhile, the boys waited patiently in the cafeteria. "It's almost time for Monokuma's next 'incentive'," Oowada said, "Wonder what more he can throw at us? I mean really, that whole near miss the other night aside, his last motive was kinda weak." "I agree," Togami said, "But it may be something meant to cater to a specific target, just like the last two incentives." Sure enough, as soon as the girls got back from their bath, Monokuma called all the students to the gym.

"Welcome, welcome," Monokuma said as the students arrived at the gym, "Nice to see everyone here so promptly." "I take it you plan to offer one of your incentives to kill," Tora said, "But we've managed to avoid falling victim to your games twice so far." Monokuma looked sad. "I know, it's upsetting. But I think I may know what the problem is. I've been acting too much like your enemy, and as such you've resisted. So perhaps this will prove a more enticing motive. More flies with honey they say." And with a wave of his arm, multiple stacks of bills dropped onto podium in front of him.

"Ta-da!," Monokuma said, "Ten billion yen! A special present for whoever manages to graduate." Tora sighed. "Bribery? You're resorting to that now? That's an even weaker incentive than when you threatened to spill our secrets." "Human lives cannot be valued with something so common," Oogami said. "Even if I were to consider killing for money," Togami said, "You're amount is short a few hundred zeroes." "No matter what you try," Naegi said, "You won't get us to kill our friends."

"You know," Monokuma said, "I'd call that a cliche 'power of friendship' BS spiel... Only no one's died so far. Still it is a bit sappy. Whatever, the offer's still on the table." And with that, he disappeared. "So," Fukawa said, "Anyone here with money troubles?" "Just Hagakure I think," Celes said. Tora closed his eyes. "Most of us either don't want or don't need the money. But I doubt this incentive is aimed at Hagakure. That's just too obvious for me."

"One thing before nighttime starts," Kirigiri said, "Just to make sure nothing happens to Alter Ego, I'll be leaving my door open. He's programmed to scream if he sees anyone suspicious approach him, so leaving at least one door open is necessary due to the dorms being soundproof. However, do not take this as an invitation to enter my room. I'd prefer not to make anyone an unintentional casualty." And with that, the students retired for the evening.

* * *

The next morning at morning at breakfast, Fujisaki looked uncharacteristically mad. "Was one of you touching Alter Ego without permission? I checked his back log before coming here and there was some very strange conversations going on." Yamada seemed a little nervous all of a sudden. "I'm sure it's nothing too serious Master Chihiro Fujisaki, perhaps you're simply being paranoid." Fujisaki sighed. "Just don't go touching him during the night. Remember that Kirigiri has her door open to listen for intruders." "Wow," Naegi said, "Fujisaki is treating Alter Ego like his own son."

* * *

The following day, Tora heard Yamada screaming from the bath area. He ran over to see everyone there with Yamada pleading apologetically in front of Kirigiri. "Let me guess," Tora said, "Yamada was the one touching Alter Ego without permission." Naegi sighed. "That's Yamada for you. Seems he likes the best of both the 3D and the 2D world." "It... It's more than that. I think I... May have fallen for her. She's the first girl other than my mama who would talk to me without being disgusted by my obsession."

"That's how Alter Ego was designed," Fujisaki said, "He doesn't get judgmental. But I'd appreciate it if you were more... Selective about what you talk to him about. It could compromise our plans." Oowada and Ishimaru then stepped in front of Yamada. "Let me make this clear as crystal. You try anything else with Fujisaki's pride and joy, and I'll punch you so hard, we may very well have our way out of this joint." Ishimaru stood there for a moment, before a strange blue aura seemed to envelope him. Suddenly, his his hair turned pure white and his eyes become fierce. "Consider that double for me!" Kuwata chuckled. "I'm guessing this... Is what Ishida looks like." Yamada gulped.

* * *

The following night, Tora, Kirigiri, and Fujisaki went to check on Alter Ego's progress. However, the laptop seemed to be missing. "What?!," Fujisaki said, "Who did this? Who could have taken him?" Kirigiri did her best to comfort Fujisaki. "Tora, go and gather the others, as subtly as possible." Tora nodded, and after a bit everyone was gathered in the bath area. "We have a serious situation. Alter Ego has gone missing." The others gasped. "Did the Puppetmaster do this?," Maizono asked nervously. "Impossible," Kirigiri said, "Alter Ego would have screamed if anyone he didn't recognize approached. That would have sent the Puppetmaster running in order to avoid being found out."

"You don't suppose," Naegi said, "The Puppetmaster convinced Enoshima to do it?" "Alter Ego hasn't met Enoshima," Ikusaba said, "We may be identical twins, but there are some differences between us, and as a computer program Alter Ego would have spotted them right away. Even if he had seen me with my wig on, he would have known the difference due to facial recognition." "Then we must consider a difficult scenario," Togami said, "That someone among the sixteen of us is secretly a mole working for the Puppetmaster, trying to ensure the game runs smoothly." That caused the others some thought. "Funny time for this mole to start acting," Oowada said, "Why not earlier when the Puppetmaster's previous plans fell flat?" Togami crossed his arms. "That... I could not say."

* * *

A little later, Tora and Togami were in the rec room playing pool together. "So," Tora said, "Who would you say the mole is?" Togami thought about. "I would rule Fujisaki out right away. He's the one who created Alter Ego, and he would not do anything to endanger him. Ikusaba's role is done, that much is certain. Maizono, Kuwata, and Oowada were all meant to be killed off by now, so we can reasonably assume it's not them. What of you?" "I'd rule out Naegi," Tora said, "He sincerely wants all of us to escape without killing. The same with Asahina and Hagakure. Celes is too obvious, and Ishimaru would never go against his moral code."

Togami nodded. "At first I would have thought Kirigiri to be a possibility, except that she's doing everything she can to try and find out who the Puppetmaster is. If she were the mole, she'd know already. Fukawa is too busy hovering around me to do any spying for the Puppetmaster. And I can honestly say, the two of us may be the least likely to betray the others. I've already vowed to kill the Puppetmaster when all is said and done, and you feel you'd be betraying your family's legacy in assisting him." Tora closed his eyes. "That just leaves... Oogami. However, while I do believe she may be the mole, that leaves a problem... Why hasn't she followed the Puppetmaster's instructions yet?"

"The only reason I can think of," Togami said, "Is that she is being blackmailed into being the Puppetmaster's mole. Her movie seemed like the rest of ours, minus Maizono's, but read between the lines and you'll find a very subtle blackmail notice. However, a sense of pride and a desire not to see any of us fight would prevent Oogami from acting on the Puppetmaster's behalf. In fact, despite what I said earlier, I doubt the mole is the thief. I simply mentioned it hoping to put everyone on their guard. We can't be lax in our efforts, or the Puppetmaster will have us all dancing on his strings."

* * *

Early that morning, just before daytime, Ishimaru knocked on Oowada's door. "What's up bro?," Oowada asked. "I have received a note to meet one of the other students in the physics lab, but Togami's talk of a mole in our group has me worried. I'd feel a lot safer if someone else I know can trust was with me." Oowada nodded. They stopped by the storeroom where Oowada grabbed a broom, then headed up to the physics lab. Ishimaru went in first, where a shadow creeped up behind him. Before the shadow could attack however, Oowada struck it with his broom.

"Oof," came Yamada's voice. He was sent crashing into the giant machine, sending a small spark through his body. What looked like a microchip fell from his neck. "Yamada!," Oowada said, "Plotting murder all of a sudden?" Yamada took several deep breaths, then said, "I... I remember... I remember everything..." Ishimaru and Oowada looked at each other. "Perhaps you had better explain yourself," Ishimaru said, "In front of everyone. The previous two incidents had reasonable excuses, but in your case you acted as though you were deliberately trying to kill me!" Yamada looked downtrodden.

* * *

Everyone had gathered for breakfast to hear what Yamada had to say. Tora came in with a forlorn looking Celes and a rather out of it Hagakure. "Seems Celes was planning an elaborate murder plot," Tora said, "With Yamada as an expendable accomplice." "Oh Celes," Yamada said, "And after all we shared, though to be fair you no longer remember any of that." "Then it was Celes who took Alter Ego!," Fujisaki said, "Where is he?" "Relax," Celes said, "I never took him out of the bath. I simply relocated him to a different locker."

"I should have known Monokuma's incentive was aimed at Celes," Togami said, "But that would mean the Puppetmaster anticipated Alter Ego's creation if Ishimaru and Yamada were the intended victims. Which makes me wonder why he hasn't tried to take Alter Ego himself yet. Assuming my theory about a mole in the group is correct, he could simply have that mole remove Alter Ego. By the way, what's wrong with Hagakure?" "Apparently," Tora said, "Celes and Yamada lured Hagakure to the art room and rendered him unconscious with some of the chloroform from the physics lab. They then used a special costume of Yamada's creation to try and fake a madman moving about the school attacking people. Hagakure was being set up as the fall guy."

"But I thought you were the one who said we should adapt to our new conditions," Asahina said. Celes sighed. "I was lying. Truth is, I want to get out of here more than anything. I still have my dream to fulfill, and I can't do that while I'm trapped in here." "Ah yes," Yamada said, "You're dream of living in a European castle surrounded by vampire butlers, correct?" Celes gasped. "How did you...? I've never told anyone about that!" Oowada held out the microchip that had fallen off of Yamada. "When I hit him into that giant machine in the physics lab, this fell off Yamada, and he suddenly gained a whole two years worth of memories."

"Not just any memories either," Ishimaru said, "But memories of our lives in this school, before it became what it is now. It seems our theory that we have been in this school for longer than we thought is true." "Which means the picture from before...," Kuwata said. Oowada nodded. "It's a memory we've forgotten, but the event pictured is real." Tora frowned. "He's messed with our perception of time, in more ways than one." Celes stood aghast for a few minutes, then finally calmed down, though she still seemed sad. "I've been a fool. I believed Monokuma's promise of fortune. But now I wonder... Would the money have even been worth it? Even if he did present it to me, could I even use it on the outside?" She walked over to Kirigiri and handed her the key to locker where Alter Ego was. "I suppose, I'll just have to assist you."

* * *

Fujisaki was relieved to see Alter Ego safe and sound. 'Oh, there you are Master. I was starting to get worried. By the way, I was able to access a number of files. And while I was digging, I was able to find a way into the school's mainframe.' "That's great!," Fujisaki said. Alter Ego beamed. 'Thank you Master. Now I know there are eighteen students in this school. No other people from what I can tell.' The other students gasped. "Eighteen people," Yamada said, "Our class consists of thirty-two students, which means at least fourteen are unaccounted for. Whether or not the eighteenth person is a fellow class-member..."

"We can reasonably assume one of the unknown students is Enoshima," Celes said, "But what of the other one?" "My money's on either Koizumi or Matsuda," Hagakure said, "They're the only other students we know about." "I'd say Matsuda's a better bet," Tora said, "Since he's a neurologist, his expertise would be needed to alter our minds in such a manner. The question is... Is he himself behind this? Or is Enoshima the Puppetmaster and simply using him to make sure our memories don't return?" 'About that,' Alter Ego said, 'Are you sure you should be talking about someone you love in such a manner?' Tora was confused, until Alter Ego brought another picture.

The picture showed Tora and Enoshima together, obviously in love. There was also another girl in the picture who looked like a nurse. "This is the real Enoshima no doubt," Kirigiri said, "Her face is more like her magazine photos. But who's the other girl?" "Her name is Mikan Tsumiki," Yamada said, "The Super High School Level Nurse and a fellow classmate of ours. Both she and Junko Enoshima have a relationship with Tora Wright." Tora was dumbfounded. "I was dating two girls at once? And they were okay with that?" "It's... Complicated," Yamada said, "Let's just say both girls were curious about each other." "That sounds like Enoshima alright," Ikusaba said.

* * *

Deep within his lair, the Puppetmaster sighed. "Why am I not surprised? At this rate things will spiral out of control. My proxy doesn't even have any idea about Alter Ego, and with Fujisaki still alive she may never find out. Worse, it seems like Yamada's chip has dislodged. It got fried when it hit the machine, and there are no replacements." Just then, he got an incoming call. "What's up? No, nothing's been going right. I'm starting to think you may have had a point about Tora Wright, but at this point we can't do anything about him without casting suspicion on ourselves. I know, I'm still going ahead to the next phase, but I've lost any confidence that it will happen as planned." He then hung up the phone.

To be continued...

**If you've already read the first book, you may have a good idea what's going on.**


	5. Chapter 4: All Apologies

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Chapter 4: All Apologies

Celes caught up with Naegi and Tora just before nighttime. "Listen," Celes said, "About what we saw..." Earlier they had spotted Oogami in the gym apparently having a confrontation with Monokuma. It had appeared that Monokuma was trying to kill Oogami, but she was far too tough for him. "I had already assumed Oogami was the mole," Tora said, "Me and Togami discussed it earlier. However, we also agreed that the only way she would agree to be his mole was if she were blackmailed." Celes closed her eyes. "With everything that's happened... We were meant to be down to eight now, correct? The Puppetmaster had planned this recent incident with me in mind."

Even though Celes did not have money troubles due to her successful gambling career, at the same time she still needed more to fulfill her dream. "Up until that money was revealed," Celes said, "I was perfectly fine waiting for you all to find us a way out. But then, fool that I am, when that incentive appeared I thought I could fast-track it. What's the matter with me? I'm a patient person by nature." Tora smirked. "They say money is the root of all evil. However, from what Yamada and Genocider told us, that money's probably useless anyway." With Yamada's memories restored, and Genocider having separate memories from Fukawa, they were able to explain why they were locked up in the school in the first place.

"Turning the whole school into a shelter," Naegi said, "To protect us from a terrible event on the outside. I'm almost glad I don't have any memories of it. It sounds too horrible for words." "What's even stranger," Tora said, "Is that all of us apparently agreed to spend the rest of our lives here. That could only happen if we have indeed been here for longer than we perceived. And then... There's that picture Alter Ego found." He was thinking of course of the picture of him together with not only Enoshima, but Tsumiki. "I have no memories of that picture... Yet it exists, and there's no evidence of it being fabricated. Yet another sign that our memories are not what we believe them to be."

* * *

When it was brought up the following morning that Oogami was the mole, she did not deny it, but also said she could not bring herself to give in to Monokuma's demands. "So it was blackmail," Togami said, "I theorized as much." Oogami nodded. "He said he had my family and my dojo under surveillance, with agents on the outside ready to kill them if I did not comply. However, that would not sit well with my pride as a warrior." "I just had a thought," Maizono said, "If the Puppetmaster had all these murders planned ahead of time, why would he need a mole to move the game along? Was he expecting his plans to fail?"

"That's one possibility," Kirigiri said, "But I've been wondering about something. While Monokuma has been upset that no murders have occurred, he acts as if he's mildly perturbed at best. The Puppetmaster would be absolutely livid. This makes me wonder if the person controlling Monokuma and the Puppetmaster himself might in fact be two different people." "I wouldn't put it past the Puppetmaster to use a proxy," Togami said, "Someone to take the fall for him when all's said and done." Oowada sighed. "Can we speculate after breakfast? By now the next floor should be open, and I'd rather not explore on an empty stomach."

* * *

The fourth floor contained a few interesting rooms. First was a chemistry lab filled with both supplements... And poisons. It even included a powerful protein supplement, which Oogami was grateful for. There was also the staff room, where Celes found another unique picture. It contained herself, Yamada, and Maizono. "Um, Yamada...," she said, "What were we doing in this picture?" "Oh that," Yamada said, "It's kind of embarrassing, but... You had agreed to pose for one of my doujin. I was so happy I was practically shouting it out, and then you tried to keep me quiet to avoid embarrassment. The result is what is shown in this picture."

Celes blushed. She looked at the back of the photo, which was also taken by Koizumi. "A-Anyway, it looks as though there are no iron plates on the windows, so this was obviously taken before the incident a year ago." She looked around to make sure it was just the two of them in the room, then whispered, "I assume I was posing nude for this, but did you... You know..." Yamada huffed. "Certainly not! I am a professional! And at that point our relationship was still only at friendship-level experience." Celes breathed a sigh of relief. "I get the feeling it could work between us, and may already have. Oh... I wish we could recover our memories. Two whole years... What monster would force friends to kill each other?"

The final room was the music room, which looked more like a concert hall. On one of the music stands was some sheet music. "This looks like a punk rock song," Kuwata said, "Composed by... Ibuki Mioda." "I know her," Genocider said, "That's the Super High School Level Musician. Major punk rock fan. I remember you and her were all over each other." Kuwata gasped. "Mioda... That was the name of the girl I met at the hair salon. You telling me we actually had something going on?" Genocider nodded.

When the group reconvened in the cafeteria, the all delivered their reports. Naegi and Kirigiri noted two locked doors on the fourth floor. "Both the Data Processing Room and the Headmaster's Office were locked," Kirigiri explained, "And I think it's safe to assume that trying to break them down will only make the Puppetmaster suspicious." "As for the poison in the chem lab," Togami said, "We can assume that is also the Puppetmaster's doing. Just more means of murder he's trying to present to us. Now I think our next step should be checking with Alter Ego. Our preparations are almost complete, so a quick look at what our friendly program has found before we set it up is essential."

* * *

When they got back to Alter Ego, he had finished decrypting all the files on the laptop. 'It seems the school was working on a project that would isolate the students and have them live together at Hope's Peak Academy for an indefinite period of time.' "Then it _was_ meant to be a shelter," Naegi said. Alter Ego nodded. 'That's what I think. Apparently it was the headmaster, Kirigiri's father, who started the project. From what I've seen, he was worried about something... Or someone... Called Super High School Level Despair. Whether this was a group or a person I can't say. There's not enough information on this one laptop.'

Tora turned to Genocider and Yamada. "Know anything about this?" "Not a clue," Genocider said, "If we ever did find out who or what Super High School Level Despair is, it was when Fukawa was in control." "I'm afraid I don't know either," Yamada said, "We were only told they were the ones behind a terrible disaster." "Super High School Level Despair does sound like a Hope's Peak student title," Naegi said, "But why would such a dark-sounding student be accepted into the school?" Kirigiri put a hand to her chin. "So they school closed down and it was made a shelter. What was the incident exactly?"

Genocider shrugged. "I don't know all the details, but they called it 'The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident'. More of a natural disaster than a man-made event, it apparently spread across the world like wildfire." "We never saw the start of it," Yamada said, "But the after-effects were horrifying to behold. Even Ikusaba, a trained mercenary, turned pale at the sight." Ikusaba gulped. "That bad? But wait... My memories have me as a participant, not a spectator. Could this mean...?" "It would appear even your memories have been altered," Togami said. Tora nodded. "Regardless, if we want to find out more, we'll have to put our plan into motion."

* * *

Right on schedule, Monokuma called all the students back to the gym. They were all wondering what his next '"incentive" would be. "Let me put out a small grudge I have," Monokuma said, "I've been hearing you contemplate about their being a mole in your group. I'm here to say... You're right! And I intend to reveal that person..." "Sakura Oogami," the students said in unison. Monokuma was taken aback. "Wait, you already know? Then why haven't you done anything about it!" "You were the one blackmailing her!," Asahina said angrily.

Monokuma sighed. "Well, you have me there..." "Then it is true," Celes said, "Too bad for you, Naegi, Tora, and myself spotted you fighting with her since she wouldn't obey your commands. Did you honestly think we wouldn't tell the others?" Monokuma seemed to think for a second. "To be honest... I did. But let me put this out here. Can you honestly say she'll stay on your side forever? I am holding her family hostage after all. Just think about that for a while." And with that, he disappeared. The students all knew the implications of Monokuma's words. He was expecting one of them to try and kill Oogami to save themselves.

* * *

A few days later, however, Tora spotted Asahina with Oogami in the infirmary. Oogami's head was heavily bandaged, but other than that she seemed to be just fine and was calmly sipping her protein coffee. "Dare I ask what happened?," Tora said. "A simple misunderstanding," Oogami said, "I had sent letters to Togami, Hagakure, and Fukawa, the three people I knew would be the most suspicious of me, to try and alleviate their fears." "Togami did mention getting a letter," Tora said, "But said there was no reason to answer it. He felt that even if you were the mole, there was no way you would kill."

Asahina sighed. "Well, Hagakure and Fukawa were a little more frightened apparently. Fukawa had arrived first and hid in the rec room's locker. Oogami came in after that, followed shortly by Hagakure. Even though Oogami was just going to talk to him, he still freaked and hit Oogami over the head with one of the Monokuma bottles in the rec room. Luckily, it wasn't hard enough to kill her. But he thought he did, and used some of Oogami's blood to write Fukawa's name in a magazine. That's when Fukawa came out of her hiding spot and tried to hide the bloody writing."

"That's when I came to," Oogami said, "And spotted her. I thought it was a good chance to talk to her and reassure her, but apparently the blood dripping down my face caused her to pass out. Naturally, when she woke again, Genocider was in control. She also freaked out at the sight of my bloody face, and grabbed another bottle from the shelf. I blacked out a second time, but knew I wasn't dead." Tora chuckled. "You really are tougher than Monokuma gives you credit for. Two direct blows to the top of the skull? That would have killed anyone else."

* * *

When the gang learned about the incident, Hagakure breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the heavens I didn't actually kill her." Genocider nodded. "Same here. That would have totally ruined my reputation." "I knew neither of you could have killed her," Togami said, "Even if you wanted to. In fact, there's not a single person in this room who could have killed Oogami. And of course, I highly doubt Oogami would have killed any of us." "So then," Maizono said, "Who was the planned murderer?"

"There is no planned murderer this time," Celes said, "I think it's possible the Puppetmaster may have been trying to drive Oogami to suicide." "The poisons in the chem lab!," Ikusaba said, "Oogami was the first to discover them!" She frowned. "I thought this was supposed to be a game of random chance, but if even me and my sister are being manipulated..." "Then Enoshima _is _the Puppetmaster's proxy," Togami said, "But in order to know that for certain, we'll need to goad Monokuma into speaking with us." "Our plan is in place," Kirigiri said, "All we have to do is set it off, and wait."

To be continued...

**Fun things will happen next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Final Mystery

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Chapter 5: The Final Mystery

As was expected, with no deaths so far the Puppetmaster, or at least his proxy, got bored enough to open the fifth floor of the school. Along with the usual classrooms, each of which a painful reminder that they were all sealed inside the school, there was one that held a grizzly sight. One of the classrooms looked like a straight-up crime scene, and there was evidence of multiple murder. "It would appear the game Monokuma is making us play is not the first time it has been played," Togami said, "Unfortunately, it would seem the participants did not make it out alive."

"One had to have," Naegi said, "That's the whole point of it right? But why leave the room like this? After my room got restored following the incident with Maizono and Kuwata, I got the impression that the Puppetmaster was fully capable of cleaning up any crime scene after the trial was finished. Why hasn't he cleaned up this one?" Togami shrugged. "Who can say? Perhaps it's a means of getting under our skin. What I can say is that this is an old crime scene. You'll notice the blood stains are rust colored and dry." "That means the blood has already coagulated," Tora said, "This crime scene must be weeks old. I think it's likely this incident occurred before we ever got here."

There was also a room for archery practice, with cherry blossom trees being grown indoors. "Guess this school must have a Super High School Level Botanist or something," Hagakure said, "But there doesn't seem to be much else in this room." The last accessible room was a large indoor garden with all kinds of plants. "I'm betting these are the real source of the oxygen in this building," Yamada said. "Maybe," Fukawa said, "Or there are probably air vents leading to the outside. Ikusaba's memories say the outside air is heavily polluted, but since her brain's as scrambled as the rest of us, that may be a fabrication."

Oowada looked inside the shed in the garden area and found something strange. "Hey, this pickax has the name of my gang on it." "That's weird," Kuwata said, "I thought bikers didn't use pickaxes." "Not for gang activity," Oowada said, "But we still need jobs to afford food and gas and junk. So we each take up part-time jobs to make ends meet. It also helps keep the gang dynamic together." Ishimaru nodded. "There is truly hope for the next generation if delinquents can actually understand the value of hard work, right bro?" Oowada smiled. "You said it, bro! But I still wonder where this pickax came from. Last time I checked, none of the gang had a job that required a pickax."

* * *

Back at the cafeteria, the students all gave their reports. "Seems there's only one locked room on the fifth floor," Ishimaru said, "The bio lab. It may to safe to say that was meant to be used as a morgue." "I also found this," Fukawa said, and she brought out a survival knife. "Whoa careful there!," Hagakure said, "That's dangerous in the hands of serial killer!" Togami looked at it. "For now we'll give it to Naegi to look after, as he's the least likely to kill someone. This was a very good find Fukawa. Nice work." He smiled at her, causing her to become flustered. "Togami..."

Tora looked around the room, then started down on his fingers. "Three... Two... One..." And at that moment, Monokuma showed up. "I am really angry right now! Which one of you did it?!" "If you're referring to the virus we set up," Tora said, "Let's just say it was a collaborative effort. I hope this makes it plain that none of us intend to kill each other. That said, we still want out, and to that end we've decided on an alternative... Find who's behind all this and force them to let us leave." Monokuma sighed. "Fine, fine, you've made your point. Alright then, consider the game off. I'd still like to make use of the trial room, however, so I hope you don't mind if we use it to see if you truly do have a grasp of the real mystery going on at this school."

Kirigiri smiled. "That is certainly acceptable. However, you should know that the virus we planted prevents you from being recognized as headmaster." To prove their point, Oowada sent the animatronic bear flying across the cafeteria with a swift kick. However, it didn't explode afterward. "I hope that gets the message across," Oowada said, "Interfere, and all your little stuffed friends get the same." Monokuma got up. "Jeez, you guys really are intent on ganging up on me, aren't you. Too bad for me I can't do anything about it. Don't think it will be that easy however, there are still a few locked doors in the school."

Togami chuckled. "Then it's a good thing our resident detective has good eyes." Kirigiri revealed a key she had been hiding. Monokuma gasped. "The master key! How did you find that?!" Kirigiri simply smiled. "Damn, you are all against me aren't you. And after I worked so hard to be a benevolent headmaster..." "That's a lie," Maizono said, "Those movies from before were meant to drive me to murder. I didn't see anyone else's movie showing actual bodies." Monokuma blinked. "There were bodies in your movie? I thought they all had the same format."

"Then there was the deal with the secrets," Tora said, "You mistook me for having prader-willi syndrome." Monokuma looked confused. "I thought you suffered from stomach pains." "Then you presented us with that money specifically with me in mind," Celes said. "That was honestly meant for all of you," Monokuma said, "Though I was expecting Hagakure to jump at the chance." "Then you blackmailed Oogami hoping to drive her to suicide," Asahina accused. "What?," Monokuma said, "Why would she commit suicide? You can't graduate that way."

There were a few moments of silence, then Monokuma said, "You guys seem to know more about this than even I do, and that worries me. I have some things to find out on my own, please excuse me. Oh, and I won't interfere in your investigation, as promised. One last thing, if you can figure out who the mastermind behind me is, that person will be executed. If not, you will all be executed." And with that, Monokuma disappeared. "I think this lends credence to our theory that the Puppetmaster and the one controlling Monokuma are two different people," Togami said, "Now we can finish exploring the school."

* * *

Fujisaki and Ishimaru went to retrieve Alter Ego from the secret room Kirigiri had discovered in one of the bathrooms. It had been sealed with an adhesive and blocked with a heavy box from the inside to prevent the Puppetmaster or his proxy from finding Alter Ego before he was finished hacking into the school's network. 'Did the virus work Master?,' Alter Ego said. Fujisaki nodded. "We were able to shut down all the security cameras and Monokuma dolls thanks to you." Alter Ego beamed. "Now we just need to get Alter Ego to access the Data Processing Room," Ishimaru said, "Once logged into the main computer, it should be easy for him to find all we need."

Meanwhile, Hagakure was working on the wiring inside Matsuda's strange machine, which according to Alter Ego was the device controlling the microchips blocking their memories. They couldn't be removed normally without severe injury, but a sudden electrical discharge from the machine would cause any nearby chips to fry and dislodge naturally. All they to do was increase the range. Hagakure was surprisingly skilled in electrical engineering. "Isn't this what they call an 'idiot savant'?," Asahina asked. "Let's just say I learned a few things fortune teller wouldn't normally need when I was in hiding," Hagakure replied.

On another section of the second floor, most of the hallways looked to have been destroyed. "Jeez," Ikusaba said, "I've seen battlefields cleaner than this." Only one bedroom still had a usable door, but the room behind it was far less usable. There was also a locker room with several scanners for ElectroiDs on the lockers. However, none of the students ElectroiDs seemed to work on any of the scanners that were still functional. "Maybe they're simply for the students in the other classes," Naegi suggested.

He and Kirigiri then entered what appeared to be the headmaster's bedroom. "This room," Kirigiri said, "Belongs to my father..." Maizono gasped. "You're father's the real headmaster." Kirigiri nodded. "I'm sure the full story behind it will become apparent to everyone once our memories are restored. After all, if we really have been friends for so long, I'd imagine I've already told this story once before." She then pointed out what appeared to be a small flaw in the wall next to a computer. "I'm fairly certain that's a secret door that can be opened using a password from this computer. But I don't know what that password."

"Have you tried your own name?," Yamada said, "You may not remember this, but apparently your father mentioned it to you." Kirigiri seemed surprised, but tried it anyway. Sure enough, the secret door opened right up. Kirigiri cautiously entered the room, Maizono and Naegi behind her. Kirigiri's eyes traveled first to a picture of herself as a child with her father, then to a brightly colored gift box. Thinking it was out of place, Kirigiri carefully opened the box. Naegi and Maizono leaned over to see what was inside, and gasped. Inside the box was a complete skeleton.

Kirigiri seemed as calm as ever, but was visibly trembling. "I guessed as much... That this box held what was left of my father." "It must have been the Puppetmaster's doing," Naegi said, "Before this whole game even got started." Kirigiri closed her eyes. "That seems likely. I know my father would never allow something like this to happen if he could help it." "But what makes you so sure this is your father?," Maizono said. "The only living humans inside this school are students," Kirigiri replied, "And if the school was being converted into a shelter, my father would remain inside it to supervise. So who else could this be but my father?"

Continuing to search through the room, Naegi found an emergency-use ElectroiD in the headmaster's desk. Kirigiri stayed behind, perhaps to mourn her dead father, while Naegi took the ElectroiD to the locker room to check it. The lockers he could open held some interesting things. Of the thirty-two lockers, fifteen were usable but wouldn't take the ElectroiDs of the students currently in the building. Each of the other lockers held some interesting things. The first locker held a practice sword and a real sword. The second held all manner of photography equipment, likely belonging to Koizumi.

The third had several items that could only be found in the country of Novoselic, and the memorabilia suggested it belonged to a member of the royal family. The fourth held a number of cooking supplies, and the fifth seemed to hold various sports equipment. The sixth held a number of gymnastics awards, the seventh a floral kimono and dance fan, and the eighth a number of medical supplies which likely belonged to Tsumiki. The ninth had several rubber masks that resembled the students, and the tenth had several pet toys.

The eleventh had a very extensive tool kit, the twelfth a guitar and sheet music, likely belonging to Mioda, and the thirteenth had a full pinstripe suit. The fourteenth locker had several handheld game systems and strategy guides. The fifteenth locker really surprised Naegi. It had several winning scratch-off tickets and various carnival prizes. A locker like this seemed to indicate that the student had the title of Super High School Level Luckster, but that was supposed to be him, and his personal ElectroiD couldn't open the locker. Then he remember what Tora had told him on the first day this game started, how a black psyche-lock had appeared over him when he gave his title. _'Maybe my title is something else altogether.'_

"It would seem these are the lockers our class used," Tora said, "But whoever's behind this destroyed the ones we used in an effort to disguise the fact that we were students here for far longer than we thought. And did you notice? This locker would suggest a person with incredible good luck." "You found something different about my title, didn't you?," Naegi said. Tora nodded. "Fujisaki has Alter Ego plugged directly into the school's mainframe. We were able to access the student files, and it labels you as the Super High School Level Hope. Not surprising, given your incredible optimism."

Inside the Data Processing Room, Asahina and Oogami entered a room with Monokuma's face on it. Judging from the layout, it was clearly the control room for the Monokuma bears. Fujisaki took a look inside and gasped. "I don't believe it! This is based on a program I was working on before I came to this school. I was sure it was more than a year from being finished." "Yet another sign that our memories have been tampered with," Oogami said, "Judging from how functional those Monokuma bears are, I'd say your program is fully operational."

Asahina then looked down and saw an open floor panel. Inside was a small room with a mini-fridge and TV. "Looks like Monokuma's controller was using this to hang out until they were needed. From the look of it this panel can only be opened from the inside." "That means whoever's controlling Monokuma is currently moving around the school," Oogami said, "And they will be doing everything in their power to avoid being seen. After all, they are most likely under the impression that they themselves are the Puppetmaster."

Inside the headmaster's office, Togami and Fukawa found a file on all the students from the 78th class. "All sixteen of us," Togami noted, "Plus Enoshima, and the fifteen other students we can't remember. This appears to have been written by the headmaster himself. From the sound of it, he had nothing but praise for all of our talents." He turned to Fukawa. "He even thought Genocider Shou could be used as a gateway to capturing other, less clever serial killers." Fukawa looked stunned. "I never thought of it that way before."

Celes and Kuwata checked out the newly opened bio lab. "Just as we thought," Kuwata said, "This was set up to be a morgue. But look. None of the storage units are in use. Not surprising, since no one's died yet. And at this point I doubt anyone will." "Of course not," Celes said, "At this point our goal is to expose the Puppetmaster and get our memories back. Still, the thought that this room was set up to store our bodies is even more chilling than the actual atmosphere."

* * *

With all the doors unlocked, Oowada and Tora decided to get a sneak peak at the trial room. The room seemed simple enough, with sixteen podiums for sixteen students. "So this is where all the action was supposed to happen," Oowada said, "Doesn't look like much. Were the executions meant to take place in this room as well?" Tora spotted a large red button near an ornate throne. "Maybe not." He called Oowada over and pressed the button down. A chain with a collar attached was launched out from a hidden door inside the room. The chain stopped in front of the area where Kuwata would have been standing. Curious, Tora and Oowada entered the room.

What they saw inside surprised them. A number of strange devices, each of them appeared lethal in one form or another. "This is... An execution chamber," Tora said, "And these devices are meant for us." "The Puppetmaster must have had these created," Oowada said, "For when we either find a villain and have him executed, or fail to find him and get executed in his place." Each of the devices seemed as devious as the last, and each of them had a name in front telling what the device was supposed to be called. They also had a button on them labeled "test mode".

The first was labeled "Light at the End". Pressing the test button brought out a ballistics-gel dummy roughly the size of Naegi. The dummy was placed on a wooden platform dangling over a flaming pit. A rope dropped down from a light shining from the ceiling. Special machines made the dummy grab the rope and it got pulled up a bit, only to have the rope wrap around the dummy's neck and hang it. "Jeez," Tora said, "Giving a guy hope only to have it ripped away like that... I think I get the theme behind these executions. They're all meant to be ironic forms of death based on our characteristics.

The next death trap was called "Sayaka Maizono's Final Performance". The test dummy was lowered onto a stage surrounded by a large mantrap. In the background, one of Maizono's most popular songs played in the background. As the song played, a meter off to the side started to fill. Right before it got to the top, the song stopped and the meter broke and triggered an automatic fail, causing the mantrap to slam shut and decapitate the dummy.

After that was a trap labeled "Detention", which appeared to have been made with Kirigiri in mind. The dummy was lowered onto a desk that was on a conveyor belt. As Monokuma's face appeared on a small screen the conveyor began to move. Soon enough the desk was positioned beneath a giant crusher, which promptly slammed down on top of the desk, crushing the dummy instantly. "Hey," Oowada said, "Is it just me, or did the chalkboard that came with this have a lesson in sex ed on it?"

The next one was called "Human Disqualification", which appeared to be meant for Togami. The dummy was dropped into a garbage can and fell into a small room that was made to appear like Hell. A few stones were launched from a hidden panel, and the dummy was then dragged into a walk-in freezer. "Hmm," Tora said, "Togami once told me that in his family exile equals death. This may be what this execution is about. His family dynamic is, shall we say, a lot more competitive than most."

The next execution was "Super Fujisaki Bros". The dummy was placed in a chair and a device was strapped to its head. In the dummy's eyes, an 8-bit sidescroller could be seen, showing a pixilated Fujisaki running from a group of pixilated Monokumas. They eventually caught up and caused the Fujisaki sprite to pop out of existence. This cause a shock to run through the dummy's head. "Damn," Oowada said, "This was designed to leave Fujisaki brain dead."

Up next was "Prime Minister Kiyotaka Ishimaru's Inaugural Parade". The dummy was placed in a vehicle and driven down a gorgeous parade praising Ishimaru. Then a sniper rifle popped up from a nearby window and shot the dummy thought the heart. Oowada was a little stunned. "I'd heard Ishimaru's grandfather was a former prime minister. Guy was apparently a genius but still wound up crashing when he got to the top. Ishimaru always considered himself an average person who wanted to show people that it's possible to get through life on just hard work."

Next was "Versailles style Witch Hunt Stake". The dummy was set up tied to a stake, and a bonfire got started. "Sounds like the sort of death Celes would have wanted," Tora said, "I don't see how..." But Tora was interrupted when a firetruck came out of nowhere and crashed right into the dummy. The two of them stood blanky for a few seconds before Oowada quipped, "I believe the phrase 'liar, liar, pants on fire' applies here. Guess this death was meant to be ironic after all." Tora nodded. "So much for Celes' dignified exit. Good thing you stopped her murder plot."

The next was "First Kiss Prank". Judging from the fact that a standee of Togami popped up, it was clear this was aimed at Fukawa. The dummy was moved toward the standee, only to have a giant roller appear between them and run the dummy over, flattening it in a gory fashion. "I... Would have expected something more book related," Oowada said, "Or maybe having her killed by her other self."

The next one, "Water Illusion Show", was likely meant for Asahina. The dummy was dropped into a water tank. A curtain fell over the tank and raised again, showing a number of sharks now surrounding the dummy. The curtain fell and rose again, and the dummy had disappeared. Suddenly, one of the sharks coughed up what looked like the dummy's head. Tora nearly felt himself lose his lunch. "These are sick! Who comes up with this stuff?!"

The next was aimed at Oogami and was called "Deciding Match of the Whole Galaxy". The dummy was placed in a wilderness-like room. Several robotic aliens popped out of the ceiling and began to make the area cramped, eventually crushing the dummy under their weight. "Man," Tora said, "Even Oogami wouldn't have survived long against that. Gotta say though, whoever this Puppetmaster is must have one heck of a budget." "Tell me about it," Oowada said, "How the hell do you even come up with this stuff?"

The next execution was called "Watch Out, Booko! Great Monster Invasion". The dummy was placed in the middle of a battle between a giant version of Princess Booko, Yamada's favorite anime character, and a giant Monokuma. The two giant robots fired what looked like laser beams and fried the dummy. "Killed by his favorite character," Tora said, "Talk about irony." "But why go through all this trouble?," Oowada said, "This aren't exactly your typical execution chambers."

Hagakure's was called "Quiz Time! I Heard There's a Chance of 30%!". The dummy was placed in front of three doors. It was moved in front of the first, which sprouted limbs and ran away. The second door did the same. The third door suddenly grew a mouth, likely just a medium-sized mantrap, and ate the dummy. "A chance of 30%," Oowada said, "Just like Hagakure's predictions have a 30% chance of coming true."

Oowada then stepped in front of his own execution, "Motorcycle Death Cage". The dummy was tied to the back seat of a motorcycle which was driven into a motorcycle cage. As the bike kept racing faster and faster, several generators on top of the cage turned on and charged it with electricity. After a bit, the cage turned off and the bike, now riderless, dropped to the ground. "That doesn't seem so bad I guess," Oowada said. Then he heard a machine behind the cage go off. Checking it out, he saw that a container of some sort of liquid had popped out. The container had his face on it. Reading it, he said, "Butter...? This thing's supposed to turn me into fucking butter?!"

Next came Kuwata's planned execution, "Million Fungoes". The dummy was strapped to a pole that was locked inside a batting cage and pelted from head to toe in baseballs via a high-speed pitching machine. "Damn," Tora said, "That's brutal. Kuwata said he always hates practicing, but I'm sure he knows the concept behind a pitching machine. Those balls are painful enough going at a slow speed. With the speed these were going at..." He picked up one of the baseballs to show it was covered in fake blood.

There even seemed to be one for Enoshima, titled "The Space Journey". The dummy here was locked inside a giant rocket which was launched high into the ceiling, which was higher up than it looked. What appeared to be a space scene awaited at the top. The reentry was much faster than necessary, and when it landed the rocket opened up to reveal the dummy had been reduced to the skeleton. "Just like Kirigiri's father," Tora said, "He must have been used as a means to test these murder machines on actual humans. But where's the irony if this is meant for Enoshima?" "Maybe it has something to do with making her a real star or something," Oowada said.

The one for Ikusaba seemed to be an expanded version of "Spear of Gungnir", where the dummy was thrown into a war scenario before stumbling into the spear trap. Seeing what the multiple spears would have actually done to Ikusaba was horrifying. "Dude," Oowada said, "You pretty much saved Ikusaba from becoming a human pin-cushion." Tora nodded. "I remember in Norse mythology how Gungnir was the spear used by Odin to kill the wolf demon Fenrir. And Ikusaba is a member of the Fenrir Company. This could be the irony in this execution."

The last one was clearly meant for Tora, and was named "Disbarment". The dummy was placed in a courthouse like the ones back in Los Angeles, right where the witness would stand. Then a giant robotic judge lifted up his gavel and slammed it down onto the dummy. Tora gulped. "Well, good thing I was never intending to kill anyone. I mean this... This is just... Brutal." He then spotted an extra one called "A Dozer Master". Looking it over, he found an important clue. "This execution was meant for Alter Ego, which means the Puppetmaster anticipated his creation." "Speaking of," Oowada said, "Let's check in with Fujisaki before the trial."

* * *

'I was able to find a number of predetermined plans from the Puppetmaster,' Alter Ego said, 'And what's more, it seems our every action is being broadcast to the outside world.' "That makes sense," Kirigiri said, "Monokuma has stated that his intention is create despair. Since the person controlling him is little more than a proxy for the real Puppetmaster, we can assume that is indeed the Puppetmaster's goal." "Of course," Togami said, "As students of Hope's Peak Academy, we're meant to represent the hope of the future. What could be more despair-inducing than seeing that hope tear itself apart?"

"'Cept no one died up until now," Kuwata said, "Sure, there have been a few close calls, but we're all still alive. And the fact that we've prevented ourselves from killing each other outta due what we were meant to do, right?" Naegi nodded. "Up until Tora saw Kuwata coming out of his room with that screwdriver, everything had been going according to the Puppetmaster's plans. And now the tables have turned." Togami chuckled. "To think a simple stomachache would lead to us ruining the Puppetmaster's plans so thoroughly. Now our last step is to finally get out of here. If the world truly has been torn apart, we'll do it no good staying in here." The students headed off for the trial room, ready to finally put an end to this charade once and for all.

To be continued...

**Interesting things happen next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 6: Ten Little Sailors

**This is the final chapter of this story. And boy does it have a bunch of stuff. Disclaimer: I don't own Dagan Ronpa or Ace Attorney.**

Chapter 6: If the Ten Little Sailors Saw it Coming

The sixteen students made there way down the elevator. They were confident they had all the answers and were ready to fight back and beat the Puppetmaster at his own game. They made their way into the trial room and walked over to the podiums, each standing in front of the podium with their name on it. Tora took his spot just in front of the throne, and from his left stood, in order, Hagakure, Fujisaki, Togami, Celes, Kuwata, Fukawa, Yamada, Naegi, Maizono, Ishimaru, Ikusaba, Oogami, Kirigiri, Oowada, and Asahina.

Once they were all in place, a pillar of fog appeared in the center of the room. When it cleared, the real Junko Enoshima was standing there. "Decided to show yourself so soon?," Togami asked. Enoshima smirked. "I've been going over the security footage for the past few weeks, and apparently a lot of stuff has been happening behind my back. Since you already know I'm involved I decided to just skip the bullshit and reveal myself right away. I normally would have had you go through the motions of proving it, but there's one thing that bothers me."

Tora smiled. "You're referring to our theory that you're not the mastermind behind all this like you think you are. That's okay, we happen to have ample evidence. First of all, in spite of our constant prowling around the school, Monokuma, who we're pretty sure was controlled by you, has only appeared sporadically, and only during the first couple weeks, or to give our incentives for killing each other." "And those incentives are very important," Kirigiri said, "You were surprised when we accused you of rigging the game to your benefit, and you were clearly under the impression that those incentives were meant to be equal opportunity."

"Hey yeah, about that," Enoshima said, "Just how did one of those movies get bodies in them? I checked them all before I had them distributed." "We did find an alternate version of Maizono's movie," Fujisaki said, "But it's not the one she saw. The one she did see had all four members of her girl group sprawled out across a dark stage." Enoshima was clearly shocked. "Then there was the notes with all our secrets on them," Naegi said, "Somehow Tora got slipped a fake one."

Tora showed the note he had, the one that said he had prader-willi syndrome. "What the hell?," Enoshima said, "I know for a fact you don't have such an illness." "Naturally," Tora said, "After all you've known us for the last two years. But that's just more proof that you couldn't possibly be the mastermind behind all this." "There is also more evidence of someone other than you being the real mastermind," Kirigiri said, "Alter Ego. He told us that there were eighteen students inside this school, and no one else. But count the number of students here, and there are only seventeen."

"We also have knowledge of the machine in the physics lab," Naegi said, "Ikusaba thought it was an air purifier, so I'm guessing you do too. However, the machine was apparently made by the Super High School Level Neurologist, Yasuke Matsuda." "That can't be," Enoshima said, "That machine was built after I killed Matsuda." "Interesting," Yamada said, "And when pray tell did you supposedly kill Master Yasuke Matsuda." Enoshima thought for a second. "It was just before our class field trip." "Impossible," Yamada said, "You may not realize this, but after bumping into the machine my memories returned."

"Hold on," Enoshima said, "You even know about your memories being stolen? How on top of this mystery are you? This is going way too fast for me." Yamada adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "As I was saying, with my memories back I can distinctly recall Master Yasuke Matsuda being one of the students who saw us off the day we left for that field trip. If you don't believe me, perhaps Master Genocider Shou could collaborate. After all, the mastermind would have needed her memories intact so that she could confirm for us the awful truth behind this mystery."

Fukawa looked nervously at Togami, who simply nodded. She then tickled her nose with her pigtail and sneezed, turning back into Genocider. "Hello! It's your surprisingly family-friendly serial killer here!" "We need you to answer us one question," Togami said, "Do you remember seeing Yasuke Matsuda alive just prior to our field trip to the Jabberwock Islands." "Sure do," Genocider said, "I was in control when we headed off for the airport, so I saw him plain as day. And plain is just how I'd describe that quack. Seriously, who wears hospital slippers with their school uniform."

Enoshima gasped. "Wait... If you guys saw Matsuda alive... Then... Then... What's going on?! I thought I was the one in control! Why is nothing making any sense?!" Tora nodded to Hagakure, who brought out a switch. "Just to warn everyone," Yamada said, "This may turn out to be uncomfortable for a second or two." Hagakure hit the switch, and all the students except for Yamada felt a serious electric shock. The shock was enough to knock Genocider out, turning her back into Fukawa when she came too. "Huh?," she said as she regained consciousness, "Hey... It's all coming back."

She looked over to Togami, who gave her a warm smile. Fukawa beamed, realizing he remembered the relationship they shared. Ikusaba looked to her sister, who had dropped to her hands and knees, the microchip now on the ground in front of her face, "Enoshima?," Ikusaba said, concern in her voice. Enoshima trembled for a bit before screaming out, "Damn you Matsuda! You said you wouldn't do your experiments on girls anymore!" Tora smiled. "Good to see you're back to normal." Enoshima whirled her head around, and was greeted by the sight of her lover.

"Tora!," she said happily as she threw her arms around Tora's neck, "Thank goodness I remember everything again." She calmed down a little. "What in the world was I doing?" "There's been a lot of that lately," Oowada said. "Now that we all have our memories back," Togami said, "There's something important I'd like to address. The murders that have been avoided so far. Don't they resemble the Dangan Ronpa game we played during our last day on the Jabberwock Islands?"

Kuwata nodded. "The first five at least. Maizono attacking me with a kitchen knife, but then me turning the tables on her. Oowada nearly braining Fujisaki with a dumbbell. Celes trying to pull off a double murder with one of the victims as an accomplice. Oogami getting attacked by Hagakure and Genocider and still surviving. Ikusaba on the verge of being impaled by a dozen or so spears. Definitely similar to the openings of that game. In fact those same notes were later found inside the school mainframe by Alter Ego."

"This whole thing has been one giant mind game meant to sow despair," Naegi said, "Which would be the perfect plan for a neurologist. In fact, Matsuda has often said his goal in life is to master the human mind, in every sense of the word." "Well then," Tora said, "Let's get it from the horse's mouth. Fujisaki?" Fujisaki nodded and brought out the laptop that he had brought with him. He typed in a few commands. "Enoshima, you might want to get out of the center of the circle." Enoshima got out of the circle and joined her sister, who embraced her. "Gotta say sis," Enoshima said, "You really know how to pull off that look." "Thanks I guess," Ikusaba said, "Though I prefer my regular uniform."

After a few seconds, a hidden panel opened up beneath the throne. Oowada and Oogami walked over and reached inside. "I think I got something," Oowada said, and the two of them pulled up and threw Matsuda right into the center of the circle. Tora looked inside the room and saw it was a fully functioning command center linked to the cameras around the building. "Now, I know what you guys are thinking," Matsuda said, "But the truth is, Enoshima's been playing you from the beginning. She set things up to make me look the real mastermind."

"My powers say otherwise," Tora said, "And you're definitely generating a ton of red psyche-locks." "But she's the one who lead Mankind's Most Despair-Inducing Event," Matsuda claimed, looking at Enoshima expectantly. Togami raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that it was called 'The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident'." "You weren't supposed to speak up," Matsuda said, then clamped down on his mouth. Togami grinned. "I thought so. You were trying to get Enoshima to correct you in an effort to make her look more like the true mastermind. Naturally, you were aware we all knew what that horrifying incident was really called."

"Besides," Tora said, "A set-up like this would have taken a long time. After all, the incident occurred a year after we all arrived at this school. The first clue was your experiments on mind alteration. Enoshima even complained that she was afraid you might have been taking advantage of her during her temporary bouts of amnesia." "There was also the incident when Tora was called to one of the empty rooms," Kirigiri said, "My father later showed him a security video showing a person in that room, apparently waiting to kill him."

"Yeah," Matsuda said, "But I was in the physics prep room at the time. Besides the pickax the person wielded had the name of Oowada's gang on it." Tora grinned. "It's time likes these when my father likes to shout..." He pointed an accusatory finger at Matsuda. "OBJECTION! We never said what room I was called to, which was the physics prep room by the way. And the security footage I was shown only showed a person's silhouette, no sign of any weapon of any kind. One would think the person meant to strangle me with their bare hands."

"And for the record, saying you were picking out a random weapon based on fridge logic won't fly here," Hagakure said, "A person doing something like that might call out 'baseball bat' off the top of their heads. It's the most common type of weapon one would find at a high school, even one like Hope's Peak. But you specifically named the pickax Oowada found that had the name of his gang on it." "Wow," Asahina said, "That actually made sense. I'm impressed Hagakure." Hagakure blushed. "I was wondering where that pickax came from," Oowada said, "Even after I got my memories back, I still couldn't remember any of my gang needing one."

"More than likely," Maizono said, "It was meant to be the murder weapon that killed Tora. However, I don't think whoever meant to use it planned on framing Oowada. Everyone at school knows none of his gang owns a pickax. I think it was meant to be an obvious red herring. Oowada, was there anything else on the pickax besides your gang's name?" "Come to think about it," Oowada said, "I did notice a red press-on nail stuck in the handle." "You see," Matsuda said, "That nail most definitely belongs to Enoshima."

"That's wrong," Naegi said, "Enoshima's nails aren't even fake. Don't forget she holds the title Super High School Level Model. Only someone with perfectly natural beauty would be granted a title like that. The only one using press-on nails was Ikusaba when she disguised herself as Enoshima, and this was long after the incident had even occurred." "Besides," Togami said, "How would the nail have even been stuck inside the handle anyway?" "It couldn't have happened when it was being held," Fukawa said, "Even if the nail fell off, it would have fallen to the ground. Most likely it was stuck in there on purpose."

"Another thing," Tora said, "When I observed the figure in the security video, what I could see of them was decidedly male. And, they were wearing a distinctive pair of slippers." He pointed to the slippers on Matsuda's feet. "As to why you would try to kill me, I can only assume you were planning on making my corpse resemble you to further make it seem like you had been killed prior to The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident." "Too bad for you," Togami said, "You misjudged Tora's condition. From the notes we received, you assumed he had prader-willi syndrome, a mental condition. This is likely due to your observations of us."

"Among the files Alter Ego found in the mainframe," Fujisaki said, "There was a psychological profile on each of us." "What does that prove?," Matsuda asked angrily, "This school never had a Super High School Level Psychologist!" "They didn't necessarily have to be made by an actual psychologist," Oogami said, "Most neurologists have a degree in psychology as part of their work. And you would often display your's for all to see." "That reminds me," Ishimaru said, "Several awards were missing from the display case in the gym's anti-chamber. Several of them belonged to us for our own accomplishments while at the school, but another that was missing was Matsuda's psychology degree."

"So based on the snacking Tora would do to calm his stomach pains," Kuwata said, "Matsuda believed he had prader-willi syndrome, but that it was under control. This proved to be a serious mistake. If Tora really had such an illness, he would have still kept his appointment, being the professional attorney he is. But we've all seen how uncomfortable those stomach pains make him. The first sign of them, regardless of what's he'd doing, and he'll go for the nearest edible item to calm his stomach." Matsuda looked stunned. "It's... A physical condition? Why haven't I heard of it?"

"Two reasons," Tora said, "First off, you seem to only focus on mental conditions, and don't even bother with physical ones. Second, even if you had considered a physical ailment, the condition I have is so rare it hasn't even been named, let alone registered in the medical books. We also have the evidence that shows you were planning on specific murder scenarios, designed to pick us off one at a time. Since you've likely been monitoring this trial from the hidden room behind me, there should be no need to go over it again."

"This whole plan would have started at the very beginning of the game here," Togami said, "You had already altered our mental state, using the microchips to both remove and alter memories for all of us, powered by that giant machine in the physics lab, which as we know is your own creation. Likely you removed the fifteen members of our class for some other plot, since there's no indication they are dead." "Enoshima would have already been set up inside the room controlling the Monokumas," Naegi said, "Which we've found were created using a program Fujisaki made. Ikusaba and Enoshima were woken prior to us, under the impression they were to be accomplices in this horrible game."

"Then Ikusaba, disguised as Enoshima," Tora said, "Infiltrated the group. But warning flags went up with me immediately due to the large number of psyche-locks, both red and black, that formed over the group. Then you began manipulating Enoshima's words using hypnotic suggestion. After the game was introduced, you waited a few days before introducing the first incentive; the movies of the outside. Most of them were the same, but Oogami's was a subtle blackmail notice. However, you had things planned so she wouldn't have to submit to Monokuma's demands. Then there was Maizono's movie."

"Seeing that movie," Maizono said, "Seeing my friends and not knowing whether they were still alive, I completely freaked out. Suddenly nothing else mattered except escape. Much to my shame, I decided I had to kill someone. It couldn't be any of the girls, they wouldn't have excepted an invitation. Of the boys, Naegi was right out. I could never bring myself to kill him. At the time, with my memories gone, I didn't Fujisaki was a boy. Togami and Tora would have ignored my invitation suspecting a trap. Ishimaru would never have broken curfew, and Oowada was too tough for me handle. Yamada would have ignored it since he prefers 2D women, and Hagakure just seemed to nice."

"Basically," Tora said, "What it boils down to is that Kuwata would be the only target she could possibly bring herself to kill. However, she was not meant to be a murderer, but a victim. Because her nature would cause her to hesitate, it meant there was a good chance that her target would fight back and kill her instead. But she wasn't thinking this at the time, she was only thinking on how to give herself an alibi before planning anything." "As it turned out," Naegi said, "She was hoping to use me for that very purpose, asking to switch rooms with me under the pretense of fear. But this too, lead to her hesitation since she didn't want to betray me."

"Up until a certain point," Togami said, "Everything proceeded as you planned. Naegi, concerned for Maizono's safety, agreed to the room swap and told her of the misaligned door on the shower, which was no doubt built that way on purpose to leave evidence that would help us solve the murder." "Earlier that evening me and Oogami spotted Maizono in the cafeteria," Asahina said, "She said she was just getting something to drink, but that's probably when she grabbed the kitchen knife without us seeing." "Then after the switch," Kirigiri said, "She wrote the invitation on the notepad in Naegi's room and slipped it under Kuwata's door. She then returned to Naegi's room and waited."

"Naturally I was stoked to get that invite," Kuwata said, "I had no idea Maizono had murder on her mind. But shortly after I set foot in the room, I heard her heavy breathing. Sensing danger, I took a step away from the bed just as Maizono took a swipe at me. That's when I noticed the practice sword Naegi had brought to his room. A defensive weapon like that would certainly stand out, especially since it originally came from the display case in the gym. So I grabbed it to defend myself then counter-attacked, breaking Maizono's wrist."

"Naturally this would have caused her to drop the knife," Togami said, "She then grabbed it in her other hand and headed into the bathroom. Since the room was not hers, it obviously wasn't locked, but due to the misaligned doorknob it would have appeared to be to anyone who didn't know the secret. Kuwata's next thought would have been talking Maizono down, but to do that he needed access to the shower. So he went to get the screwdriver from the toolkit he had been provided. Of course, since this was actually Naegi's room, there was one in there, but Kuwata wouldn't have known that."

"Up until Kuwata grabbed his screwdriver," Tora said, "Everything went as you planned. But during the night, Maizono's condition and the contents of my movie kept me up, and then my stomach pains kicked in. As I stepped out of my room, I spotted Kuwata with the screwdriver sticking out of his pocket. And that's when all your plans started to fall flat." "If not for Tora's timely intervention," Ishimaru said, "Kuwata would have used the screwdriver to take apart a non-existent lock. The resulting aftermath would have ended in tragedy for Maizono."

"The notes have Maizono writing Kuwata's first name in her blood behind her back," Kirigiri said, "But they would have been from her perspective, while anyone looking at them head-on would have seen a series of numbers. As for the rest of the cleanup, first there was the lint roller in Naegi's room, which Kuwata was meant to use to remove any trace of him in the room. However, this would have also removed all of Naegi's hair, which would be a tell-tale sign that someone other than Naegi had been in the room."

"You've also gotta think that after something like that," Oowada said, "There would have been a lot of blood on Kuwata's jacket, he would need to get rid of it, and that meant the furnace room. The furnace was locked and only one person would have the key each week, and that week it was Yamada who had the key. However, Hagakure mentioned he had somehow forgotten his crystal ball in the laundry room that very night." "I see," Yamada said, "Kuwata would have been forced to use the crystal ball to turn on the furnace without opening the grate, but that's a total distance of ten meters."

"Tch," Kuwata said, "Ten meters for me is nothing. I didn't earn the title Super High School Level All Star for nothing. Of course, this would leave the shards of the crystal ball and the turned on furnace as evidence. Not to mention with the way I would have balled up my jacket to throw it into the furnace, there's a good chance at least part of the sleeve would have fallen out and landed on the ground." "With the body being in Naegi's room," Togami said, "Suspicion would have fallen on him temporarily, but not long enough for us to get the wrong culprit."

"There was also part of a later set-up prior to what would have been the first investigation to consider," Kirigiri said, "Even though no murder had occurred, we still had to be made aware of the existence of the class trials. And this was where Ikusaba was meant to be killed. From their individual perspectives at the time, Enoshima thought herself the mastermind and Ikusaba a willing accomplice trying to get her sister's approval. Enoshima, what was going through your mind as Ikusaba played the part of trying to fight back against Monokuma."

Enoshima thought back, and it was clear how painful the memory was. "At the time, I was thinking of delivering Ikusaba despair out of a misconceived notion of sisterly love." "The Spear of Gungnir trap," Tora said, "It was meant to be voice activated, and a note naming it was right on the podium. For Matsuda, it would have been necessary to kill at least one person in front of us to make us breakdown psychologically and realize the gravity of the situation. However, I noted the unusual behavior Ikusaba was exhibiting, and moved to intervene. This ruined your set-up ahead of time."

"Needless to say," Ishimaru said, "Our debate at the trial would most certainly have resulted in Kuwata being found guilty and promptly executed. Then came the next incentive, the secrets you had found about us, most of which were based on our psychological profiles. You had earlier altered Oowada's mind to make him think he had never told anyone about how his brother died protecting him from his own mistake, when in reality everyone knew."

"The thought of everyone finding out about that day," Oowada said, "Would have pushed me close to the edge, but not quite over it. However, you knew this, and were planning on another secret to push me to murder someone, specifically Fujisaki's. He was more than willing to reveal his secret. You were counting on him to unintentionally set me off. If I had done that, I would have been obligated to hide Fujisaki's secret for as long as possible." "Prior to this incident," Ishimaru said, "Oowada and I had a sauna duel. Oowada kept his clothes on as a handicap, and during the time we spent there his ElectroiD broke due to the extreme temperatures."

"The idea would be that Oowada would be forced to grab Kuwata's ElectroiD," Celes said, "By this time Kuwata was supposed to be dead, as was Maizono and Ikusaba. The rules set up at this school prohibit lending out ones ElectroiD, but they said nothing about borrowing one from a dead student. A convenient loophole put in place intentionally. The idea was for Oowada to use one of the dead girls' ElectroiDs to access the women's changing room and place Fujisaki in there, swapping out the posters and carpets as well. Essentially Oowada would have been forced to move the entire crime scene. But of course there would have been some unforeseen pieces of evidence in place to ensure Oowada would have been found guilty. First was the fact that I had bumped into Fujisaki prior to him heading for the changing rooms."

"Then there would have been the posters," Naegi said, "Bashing someone's head in with a dumbbell would have caused a lot of blood splatter, likely getting it on the poster and carpets. In the men's changing room is a poster of a gravure idol, while the women's changing room has a poster of the popular boy band Tornado. Swapping those poster's would have been a dead giveaway that the crime scene was not where it was initially believed to be." "Additionally," Oogami said, "The day before that I had spilled some of my protein coffee on the carpet in the women's changing room. That would have provided proof that the carpet had been switched as well."

"Naturally there was more to this," Togami said, "Up until I noticed the discrepancy in the movies I thought we would be playing a fair game. With this mind-set, it was only natural that I would want to test the skills of the others to see if they were worthy challengers. It wouldn't have taken us long to realize Fujisaki was missing, and in searching for him I likely would have utilized the loophole regarding the ElectroiDs to search the women's changing room. For me, it would have been a logical first place to search. And upon seeing the dead body, my first thoughts would have been using the extension cord I've been using for the reading lamp in the library to crucify the body in an attempt to frame Genocider Shou for the murder. Of course this ruse would have eventually been found out, of that I'm certain."

"But a few things went wrong with the plan from the get go," Kuwata said, "Since I dodged a bullet after Tora prevented me from killing Maizono, neither of our ElectroiDs were up for grabs. Neither was Ikusaba's after Tora prevented her death, especially since we had her locked up in the infirmary by day and her room by night, for a while at least. That meant that instead of relying on the ElectroiD of a dead student, Oowada had to get his replaced... Again." Oowada snickered, remembering he had also broken his ElectroiD during his and Ishimaru's first sauna duel.

"Kuwata had taken to patrolling the hallways before retiring for the night after his close call," Celes said, "And spotted Fujisaki, most surprisingly, entering the men's changing room. When he heard Oowada was in there, he panicked, knowing it would be dangerous for any two people to be alone together. While Tora's prevention of Maizono's murder relieved a lot of the tension in our group, it wasn't completely gone, and the threat of our secrets being exposed was starting to make it rise again. He entered the changing room just in time to warn Fujisaki, but got struck in the arm for his troubles."

"Acceptable loses," Kuwata said, "What's one arm that can heal against a life that can't be recovered? It was still painful however, which is why I screamed so loud, causing Tora and Celes to come running. It also broke Oowada out of his fury, making it easy to talk him down. Naturally after that, everything came out into the open." "Instead of two murders," Tora said, "We simply had two injuries. Plus in all likelihood, the threat of exposing our secrets was a bluff. But your plans were far from done. In fact, you knew that Fujisaki was almost expecting to die at some point, and in fact he had created a program that could help the survivors escape."

"I fixed up the old laptop using the toolkit in my room," Fujisaki said, "And then created Alter Ego with it. Naturally the best place for me to hide it was in the changing room of the bath on the first floor, since there were no cameras." "With Fujisaki dead and Oowada executed," Kirigiri said, "You had to rely on the severity of the situation bringing one of us to find Alter Ego on our own by accident. That would most likely have been Asahina, likely sneaking out to grab some doughnuts from the storeroom." "Yeah," Asahina said, "I always tend to pig out on doughnuts when I get upset."

"Of course considering the nature of Alter Ego," Naegi said, "She may have initially mistaken it for Fujisaki's ghost. Then, of course, came the next incentive, the ten billion yen. Where did you even get that anyway?" "Don't you know?," Togami said, "Matsuda has gained a small fortune on several patents he owns for psychology-based inventions. He would often brag about it to his peers. Regardless, while on the surface the money could be seen as being directed at any one of us, the truth is that most people here neither needed nor wanted the money. Only Hagakure or Celes would have been tempted by it, and since Hagakure was such an obvious choice he quickly decided against making any plans to kill for the cash."

"This of course left me as the obvious mark," Celes said, "While my plan for committing murder was well thought out, even it had a handful of holes just waiting to be poked through. Alter Ego noticed that an unused rule existed that would prevent any of us from killing more than two people. And of course we already knew that only the villain of any murder could graduate, so an accomplice would normally be out of the question. But what if two people committed two murders in collaboration?" "Naturally," Kirigiri said, "There would be a chance of both of them graduating."

Celes nodded. "My first step was to secretly take Alter Ego. Since I was a familiar face he did not scream. Next I hoped to take advantage of Yamada's apparent crush on an AI program. There was also an additional element which was supposed to be included, but was ultimately taken out of the equation. That is, Ishimaru's 'Ishida' form. With how close Ishimaru and Oowada had gotten, with Oowada executed Ishimaru would have been devastated. But all it would take was a few choice words from Alter Ego to invoke Ishida and everything would have been set up for the next murder in Matsuda's overall plan."

"The night I tried to kill Ishimaru," Yamada explained, "Celes invited me to her room. She claimed that Ishimaru had first raped her, then blackmailed her into taking Alter Ego. Of course if everything had gone to Matsuda's plan, Alter Ego would have been told to scream not only at the sight of a stranger, but myself or Ishimaru as well. And if there's one thing I won't stand for, it's rape. While it seems inconceivable that Ishimaru would do anything so heinous, Celes is a very convincing liar, and with Ishimaru in his Ishida state we wouldn't have been sure what he was capable of."

"Naturally a fall guy was needed to set things up," Celes said, "So I had Yamada slip Hagakure a letter to meet us in the art room at 1:00 that night. We were able to render him unconscious and set him up in the Justice Robo suit Yamada built. Then I took a picture of Yamada carrying Hagakure in such a way that it would look like Yamada was being abducted. We then then had him stashed in the lockers near the pool area." "After that a second note was delivered to Ishimaru," Yamada said, "Telling him to meet us in the physics lab at 6:00. Just for the record, we were able to lure them in by telling them we had found a hole to the outside and didn't want Monokuma to know about it."

"If I had gone alone at that point," Ishimaru said, "I would not be standing here right now. Yamada had been lying in wait to kill me with a hammer from the art room styled up to look like a 'Justice Hammer'. And if not for Oowada, Yamada most certainly would have killed me. From there Celes's plan involved misdirection. She was planning on faking attacks on her and Yamada and claiming a madman was roaming the school, attacking people with progressively larger hammers. After the first two attacks, Yamada was meant to play dead and be 'discovered' by Celes and two others, likely Naegi and Asahina. At the same time, Oogami, Togami, and Fukawa were meant to discover my corpse at the same instant."

"This would have set off something called a 'corpse discovery announcement'," Tora said, "Quite obviously one hasn't been used, but it's meant to go off once three or more people discover a dead body. This of course was the first flaw in Celes's plan, as one would have gone off for each body. After all, you can't 'rediscover' a corpse, and Celes's plan would have been far from done. Since Yamada would obviously still be alive at this point, using transfusion bags for faking his death by the way, he would have wiped off his glasses, gone to move Ishimaru's corpse to the art room, and waited for Celes. That would have been the point when she was to kill him using a regular hammer."

"Of course I would have had to wash it," Celes said, "But that was an additional flaw. There was nothing to wipe off the hammer, and the rest of the hammers were covered in dust and gravel from chiseling statues. The blow to Yamada's head would also cause him to remember everything from before as well, and his final moments he would have named his killer... Using my real name. As we all know, when our ElectroiDs boot up, they start by showing our real names. However, several things at this point prevented me from following through with my plans. The first was the fact that I had already told the others my real name in an effort to remove our secrets as a threat."

"Then there was the fact that Togami suspected a mole in the group," Oowada said, "Naturally he was meant to do this anyway, but nothing was supposed to come of it since the mole's role was yet to occur. However, Ishimaru grew concerned about the possibility. Sure, he would have answered the letter regardless, and on time too, even if he had reverted to Ishida. But now he had someone he could trust to help watch his back. Namely, me." "Celes's plan," Kirigiri said, "And by extension the mastermind's, relied on Ishimaru showing up alone. But because Oowada was there to back him up, he was able to intercept Yamada before he could kill Ishimaru."

"And at that point," Yamada said, "I was knocked into your machine, which controls the microchips. An electrical disruption was created as a result, frying the one I was unknowingly wearing." "At the same time," Tora said, "Celes, due a combination of guilt and a realization that her plan was sure to fail, came knocking on my door and admitted to everything. She then led me to where Hagakure was still knocked out." "Of course with Fujisaki still alive through all this," Naegi said, "He was able to update Alter Ego frequently. And we had a plan in place to have Alter Ego converted into a virus to take control over the whole building."

"That part was easy," Fujisaki said, beaming, "As an expert programmer I've had experience with every type of computer virus ever created. The hard part was hiding Alter Ego in such a way that he could not be found." "One way or another hooking Alter Ego up to the network would be essential," Tora said, "But it was also part of your plan. There was only one place where Alter Ego could be hidden, the secret room in one of the bathrooms. However, instead of simply leaving it in there, we left it inside and then sealed the door in such a way that only we could open it again."

"In the process of doing this," Celes said, "Tora, Naegi, and myself stumbled upon Monokuma and Oogami fighting. Tora and Togami had already speculated that Oogami was the mole, but also had reason to believe she was being blackmailed. The idea had been to drive her to suicide to fulfill the conditions set out for her, but this was prevented due to the realization the your 'hostages' may already be dead." "Your proxy, that is to say, Enoshima," Kirigiri said, "Was also to attack Naegi at one point and cause him to stumble across the scene alone. If that had happened, he would have been reluctant to reveal what he saw."

"Most of your incentives and the actions meant to be taken by Enoshima had the same theme of sowing mistrust among us," Togami said, "This was especially apparent during the not-so-surprising reveal that Oogami was the mole. Naturally she would have wanted to reassure as that she wouldn't kill any of us and then take her own life. The first part of this certainly happened, with Hagakure and Fukawa attacking Oogami out of perceived self-defense and reflex, respectively. Asahina later found Oogami, injured but in no danger of dying. Oogami was to send Asahina away and lock herself in the rec room, where she would ingest some poison taken from the chem lab and thus kill herself."

"If that had actually happened," Asahina said, on the verge of tears, "I would have nearly gone off the deep end myself. Monokuma was then meant to hand me a fake will made to make me think ill of the others. That would have led me to try and frame myself for the crime, thus causing all the remaining students to be executed. Naturally this would have been prevented, after which Oogami's real will would have been revealed in a vain effort to rub salt in the wound." "Of course this should have been the point where Alter Ego would have been 'destroyed'," Togami said, "But being a program, and by this time already entered into the school's network, only the laptop would have been destroyed."

"Then would have come something really sadistic," Oowada said, "Using Ikusaba's body to frame Kirigiri. From the proxy's perspective, it was a chance to get her out of the way. For the real mastermind, it was a chance to set up his proxy to take the fall." "Of course by this point I was meant to be dead," Ikusaba said, "But the mastermind would have had Enoshima pretend to be me, giving the illusion that I was still alive and moving secretly through the school." "By keeping a number of doors strategically locked," Ishimaru said, "The real truth would have been easy to hide. The mastermind was also counting on one thing during the trial... For Togami to start accusing Kirigiri and then for Naegi to take the fall for her, then during the execution Alter Ego was meant to save him and have him dropped into the garbage chute."

"At which point," Kirigiri said, "I would have gone in to save him. This would have cornered the mastermind's proxy, forcing one final trial not only to solve Ikusaba's murder, but also to discover the truth behind what was happening at this school. That was when Enoshima was meant to take the fall for the real mastermind and be killed, thinking she _was_ the mastermind. That would have taken the heat off of you, Matsuda." "Needless to say," Tora said, "This first part of all this was destroyed completely on a number of levels. We suspected the existence of a proxy, we had prevented Ikusaba's murder, and to add insult to injury, instead of forcing us into despair, we've only grown stronger together."

"Face it Matsuda," Naegi said, "Even with our memories gone we were able to work together to stop your plans. Granted they might have worked if Tora was not around, but it was because you miscalculated that he was able to prevent any of us from dying." Matsuda couldn't help but be stunned. "This... This is impossible... My plans ruined... BECAUSE OF A STOMACHACHE?!" Enoshima grinned. "Always expect the unexpected when it comes to my boyfriend." "There's only one thing I don't get," Maizono said, "We assumed the mastermind was moving forward out of boredom, but I somehow think that was just a false personality trait forced on Enoshima. What was the real reason you moved on in spite of each stage of your plan failing?"

Matsuda started to chuckle, then broke out into a full-on maniacal laugh. "I'll tell you this much, you're right in thinking your friends are still alive! But my partner, Izuru Kamukura, has them right now! The next stage of our plan needs to go off at a precise time! We made a phony prophecy to our followers, the reserve students we deceived into thinking this school was creating murderers! Once Enoshima was executed, they were all to commit suicide, and leave your friends to take the fall as the leaders of our cult! Right now, as we speak, the mess created by The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident is being cleaned up by an organization called Future Foundation! The seven surviving students were meant to join them, find the friends they could not remember, and have them 'rehabilitated' using a virtual reality simulator of my own design! Kamukura is in possession of an AI version of the false personality I gave Enoshima, which he intends to use to infect the entire world, and spread his despair!"

Togami scoffed. "Well, I've had just about as much of this man as I can take. Since the rules of the trial state that the mastermind will be executed if he loses, I suppose all we have to do is vote on it." Matsuda's eyes widened as the slot machine spun with there votes, landing on all three of his faces. The big red button appeared, and Alter Ego's face lit up on it. 'I found something really weird on this thing Master. Something called "Super Duper Nasty Torture".' "Oh that," Enoshima said, "That's basically a combination of all the executions that have occurred. Though, since none of them have been used, it'll default to all of them."

Tora smiled and walked over to the button, then motioned for Enoshima to join him. "It's good to have you back babe," he said. Enoshima giggled. "It's good to be back... Babe." They shared a kiss as they pressed the button. Instantly the chain collar shot past the students and grabbed Matsuda by the neck, dragging him to the execution chamber to suffer all the torment meant for the others.

**Light at the End**

Matsuda landed on the wooden platform before the chain wrapped around his neck nearly choking him to death, then continued to pull him along.

**Sayaka Maizono's Final Performance**

Matsuda was dragged into the middle of the giant mantrap, which slammed shut, injuring him.

**Detention**

Matsuda found himself under the giant crusher, which slammed on top of him before quickly lifting back up and letting him be dragged off again.

**Human Disqualification**

Matsuda got dragged through the snow and ice as several rocks rained down on him.

**Super Fujisaki Bros**

Matsuda was placed in the chair with the strange device and got shocked as a result of the game over in his head.

**A Dozer Master**

Matsuda passed under the giant shovel just as it slammed down onto his back.

**Prime Minister Kiyotaka Ishimaru's Inaugural Parade**

As Matsuda flew through the parade scene, the sniper rifle shot him in the shoulder.

**Versailles style Witch Hunt Stake**

Matsuda was dropped into the flames just long enough for the fire truck to land on top of him.

**First Kiss Prank**

Matsuda was left on the ground just long enough to get run over by the giant roller.

**Water Illusion Show**

Matsuda was dragged though the water tank as the sharks nipped at his heels.

**Deciding Match of the Whole Galaxy**

One by one Matsuda passed under the aliens as the tried to land on him, with the final one succeeding.

**Watch Out, Booko! Great Monster Invasion**

Various laser beams fired at Matsuda, who got singed by a few of them.

**Quiz Time! I Heard There's a Chance of 30%!**

Matsuda was dragged right into the C door, which opened it's mouth wide to slam down on him.

**Motorcycle Death Cage**

Matsuda found himself electrified as he passed through the openings in the cage.

**Million Fungoes**

Matsuda was helpless to defend himself as he got pelted with baseballs.

**The Space Journey**

Matsuda was locked inside the rocket, which fell over and blasted off for a short distance before crashing and opening up, allowing Matsuda to be dragged further.

**Spear of Gungnir**

Matsuda had all his limbs impaled by the multiple spears that came out of nowhere.

**Disbarment**

Matsuda finally stopped at the mock witness stand, just in time to get crushed to death by robotic judge's giant gavel.

In spite of the knowledge that the man behind their confinement was gone, the sight of his blood all over the final execution chamber still left many of them sick. They didn't regret what they did, after all he was planning on doing the same to most of them. But it still wasn't a pretty sight. "Just looking at all the ways he had set up for us to die," Asahina said, "What sort of monster comes up with this stuff?" Enoshima sighed and reached into one of the pockets on her blouse. "Well guys, what's say we get out of here?"

She held up the exit module for the front door. "This was in my pocket the whole time," Enoshima explained, "My guess is once Matsuda had me executed as the mastermind, he intended to release the survivors since his experiment was officially done." Suddenly Tora looked like he was in pain. "Actually, how about we grab one last meal here? Maybe take the time to grab a few things for the outside." About an hour later, the whole gang was standing by the front door. Celes had grabbed the ten billion yen, thinking it could be used to fund a rebuilding effort. Fujisaki had found the original bear that the Monokuma dolls were modeled after. Other than that, all they took were a few changes of clothing.

"You know," Enoshima said to Tora, "Once we're on the outside, we need to find Tsumiki. I'm worried about her." Tora nodded. "So am I Enoshima. If Kamukura is who I think he is, then she and all our other friends are in danger." Enoshima pressed the button on the exit module, causing the door to open up. Outside, the students were surprised to be greeted by the roar of applause. Many of their friends and family members were right outside the entrance of the school. Maizono cried tears of joy at being reunited with her friends from her girl group, Oowada was soon surrounded by his gang, cheering his newfound source of strength, and Naegi happily reunited with his own family.

Tora looked around the happy scene, joyous even with the after-effects of The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the background. Then he saw a familiar face step out of the crowd. "You know," the man said, "I've been known for using some crazy methods to turnabout a serious situation, but I don't think I've ever done so by having a stomachache." Tora smiled. It was his father, Phoenix Wright, along with his mother Iris and his adopted sister Trucy. "So you were the one who started Future Foundation. I should have known." "Well what did you expect?," Phoenix said, "The world had just gotten out from under the Dark Age of Law. I wasn't about to let it sink into despair so soon after it was picking itself up."

He pointed to the giant screen that had been set up outside the school. "Some crazy guy with white hair hijacked the media broadcasts and said we would be shown a spectacle. My guess is he was expecting you guys to kill each other in their. But as it turned out, all that happened was a series of events that simply gave everyone more hope that you would all make it out okay. So I gathered the team I assembled, came to Japan, gathered as many of your friends' families as I could find and brought them here to greet you when you got out." "Thanks dad," Tora said, "But it's not over yet. Fifteen of our friends are still being held by that madman. We need to find them as soon as possible." Phoenix smiled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't worry son. We will."

To be continued...

**SURPRISE! Phoenix Wright makes a cameo. MORE SURPRISE! Someone does die, it's just not one of the 78th class. Yeah, you guys had to figure Matsuda was gonna get offed once he was revealed as the true mastermind. But Kamukura is still a threat. Now, the third book in this trilogy is gonna take a lot longer since I'm still waiting on a translated version of Super Dangan Ronpa 2 (which the third story will follow a little more closely), but it will come, so keep an eye out.**


End file.
